Ice Cool Whitechapel
by ArthM
Summary: Whitechapel seems to weather whatever is thrown at Needless to say, it's normally unlikely to be from natural causes, and things must be set Read on to find out how new problems are dealt with in episodes of what is, essentially, an alternative series Pretty much a general fic, but with a romantic sub-plot which will resolve one way or Now complete!
1. Ice Cool - 1 - A Cold and Frosty Morning

**This is my first attempt at writing like this, so please tell me what you think. It seems realistic in my mind, but that could just be wishful thinking. As for timing, it's set in an indefinitely extended version of the first series.**

**Oh, and, of course, I own nothing.**

* * *

**Ice Cool**

* * *

**A Cold and Frosty Morning**

It was a clear summer's night in Whitechapel, with the moon hovering in the still air. All was silent. It was the hour before morning when even Whitechapel's inexplicably numerous bats had returned to their roosts.

Then, quite suddenly, a pale mist rolled out of the woods, and headed towards the little town. It was very low to the ground, and seemed to shape itself to the contours of the earth. Everything it touched turned white. As it passed through the streets, the immaculate lawns shimmered with frost. The windows of the sleeping people iced over, and a cold sheen even seemed to cover the roads and pavements. Outdoor thermometers first dropped rapidly, and then froze completely, while trees in full leaf turned silver. By the time the frost had reached the other side of Whitechapel, the town was shining silver in the moonlight.

Back on the hill overlooking Whitechapel, the mist gathered up, slowing growing and shaping itself into an upright figure. From a mouth that was no more than a hollow came a laugh as it surveyed its work.

"Stillness and peace. Perfect. If only it could always be like this." The figure paused, and the gap in the fog twisted into a grimace. "Well, I think that could be arranged." With a chuckle that echoed through the empty town, the figure slunk back into the woods, leaving the town to wake up to its new appearance.

* * *

Ethan woke with a start to the sound of laughter. He stared wildly around him, but could see no-one nearby. Shaking his head, he dismissed it as a bad dream. As the thought faded from his mind, he noticed that he was shivering. That was odd. He stared with surprise at the goose pimples on his arm. Sitting up, he remembered that he'd left the window open due to the oppressive summer heat of the evening before. He swung his legs out of bed and went to close the window. As he reached it, he saw that it was caked in ice, inside and out. That was very odd. He glanced out of the window at the frost covered lawns. This was beyond odd now, and Ethan felt a familiar sense of foreboding as he slammed the window shut, sending melting ice showering over his bare feet. With a yelp, he skittered back. There was something going on here. Again.

A little while later, Ethan had dressed and was heading into the kitchen for breakfast. If there was some kind of monster terrorising Whitechapel today, he may as well face it on a full stomach. As he poured his cereal, he watched the news on TV:

"What can you tell us about today's unexpected cold snap, Rob?" asked the anchor.

"Well, there have been some odd weather patterns sweeping around this part of the world recently, and our top meteorologists are confident that this is just the result of a totally natural change in pressure. Viewers can be reassured that this cold spell is only a sudden freak, and everything should be fine by tomorrow. For today, make sure you wrap up warm!"

Glancing back down from the TV, Ethan shrugged to himself. Maybe there wasn't a problem after all. Not every strange event necessarily had to be of supernatural origin. Benny was proof of that… Speaking of Benny, Ethan frowned and looked at the clock. Benny was normally here by now, taking Ethan's slice of toast. He wondered where he might have got to. Picking up his bag and coat, Ethan went to the front door.

As it opened, a gust of frigid air ripped into the hallway. It really was cold outside. Perched on the wall and blowing into his gloved hands was Benny. His shivering friend grinned at him.

"I thought you'd never c-come out!" he said, teeth chattering.

"Why didn't you ring the bell?" asked Ethan.

"It's frozen," said Benny, "and so is your door knocker." Ethan turned to look.

"Wow, that was some frost we had last night!"

"Yeah…" Suddenly, Benny jumped up and down, flailing his arms wildly. "Can we go now? It's just – I'm _really_ cold!" Ethan laughed, and, pulling on his own gloves, went with his friend to school.


	2. Ice Cool - 2 - The Mulberry Bush

**The Mulberry Bush**

Ethan and Benny hurried down the road to school, their breath misting in the freezing air. Their feet crunched on the frosty ground, and both of them were treading carefully to avoid the embarrassment of slipping over. With great relief, they reached the school gate. Benny sped up as the school entrance neared.

"Finally! Some central heating."

Ethan laughed. "This must be the first time you've ever run into school." Suddenly Ethan stopped and stared at something. "Hey… Benny?" His friend spun around, impatient.

"Wha-a-!" In the middle of his query, he finally skidded and fell onto his back. "Ooff." Benny winced as Ethan helped him back onto his feet. He tried to act cool at the pair of smirking girls that were just walking in, but even Ethan could see that it was a lost cause. Scowling, Benny turned to his friend. "So, what was so important that was worth me losing some of my social standing?"

"_Social standing!_ When did you get any to lose?" asked Ethan, with a grin.

"Oh, it can go _negative_." Benny growled, glaring at him.

Ethan raised an eyebrow. "That doesn't even make sense. Anyway, do you ever remember this mulberry bush being right in front of the school?"

"That was it?" he squealed indignantly. "I don't really think I paid much attention. And, for your information, it's a mulberry _tree._"

"O-kay… Mulberry bush, mulberry tree, whatever, it doesn't feel right."

Benny's face fell as he saw the set look on Ethan's face. "Oh, no. No, not again. You have a hunch that something's wrong, and we're going to have to spend the next few days working it out, trapping whatever it is, fighting it and defeating it. Again." Ethan shrugged. Benny made a face. "And it's freezing outside, and this is bound to take outside, because it always does. Can we at least skip to the defeating stage right away, just this once? Please?"

Ethan was about to reply when he was interrupted by a voice. "Hi guys. What's Benny pleading about, and why are you standing around this mulberry bush?"

"It's a _tree,_" hissed Benny.

Sarah ignored him and looked back at Ethan. "Well?"

He pointed to the plant. "See this mulberry bush –" "_Tree!" "-_ I don't think that it was here yesterday. I also don't think that this cold snap is entirely natural either. I'm not sure if they're related, though. Benny is desperate for me to ignore it."

"_Benny_ is also desperate to go inside and not freeze to death!"

Ethan and Sarah ignored him as they took a closer look at the mulberries. "They seem normal…" said Sarah.

"Too normal!" mocked Benny under his breath.

"…Too normal?" finished Sarah, looking questioningly at Ethan.

Benny rolled his eyes and breathed into his hands again. It felt as if his nose was going to fall off. He zoned back into the animated discussion of his friends:

"Even though everything is frozen, these berries are still fresh and soft. How can that make sense?" asked Ethan.

"Special supplement?" put in Benny.

"Maybe… If only we knew someone that knows a lot about plants." Sarah and Benny both looked hopefully at Ethan. He shrugged. "Not my area, I'm afraid. Or Rory's."

"Don't even _mention_ that name!" came a snarl from Erica, which made all of them jump. "Hey, is that a mulberry tree?"

"_It's a tree!_" yelled Benny, on automatic, before suddenly recovering himself "Wait –" He broke off and grinned. "I knew I fell in love with the right one!" he said to himself.

Erica gave him a withering look, which entirely bounced off, before leaning in close to the plant. She prodded at the fruit. "This is really unusual for this latitude. I can't believe I've not seen this one before." Erica then frowned and straightened up abruptly, realising that she was straying from her new image.

Ethan smirked. "Even being undead can't kill the nerd."

"Watch it, loser!" snapped Erica, putting a hand on his throat, before wiping it with disgust on Sarah's jacket. "I can't believe I touched you." Benny looked at Ethan enviously, while Ethan just looked embarrassed.

"Anyway, _if_ you could focus and help us, Erica," said Sarah, "we have our suspicions about this plant. For a start, it's really cold, and it's got fresh fruit."

Erica examined it. "I'm loath to admit it, but I agree with you guys. There's something not right about this tree. It shouldn't be flourishing like it is, certainly not in this weather."

"So, it is suspicious, then." Ethan grinned at Benny. "You know you love it." Benny scowled and walked with them towards school. "Did either of you two see anything last night? Anything odd?"

Sarah shook her head. "I was babysitting at another house all evening, and then went home. It was still warm outside when I got there."

"And I was hunting across town, before coming here early this morning to meet up with Rory."

The three of them turned and gaped at her. "You planned to meet up with _Rory!_ Like a date?" asked Benny, incredulous. He soon regretted it, as he was slammed against a tree, and it took the intervention of the other two to save him from a furious Erica.

"The Council have ordered us to watch each other, in order to keep an eye on each other's powers. All vampires do, and, since we're the only two newly fledged vampires, we have to be paired together. But the little dweeb didn't show, and I froze for _ages_ waiting for him. He'd better watch out next time I see him."

At those words, there was a whimpering sound from above them. Confused, they looked up through the icy branches. There, sitting on a bough, was Rory. Erica bared her teeth at him. "Rory?" called Ethan, "Why are you up there?"

"I'm stuck," came the slightly muffled reply.

"What?" they chorused.

"I'm frozen to the tree. Can anyone get me down?"

Erica started to walk away, a wicked smile on her face. "Bye, losers!" Sarah shook her head, glanced about her and flew up into the tree. Once there, she found the blonde boy cemented to the branch. Using all of her vampire strength, she managed to prise him from it, and he fell to the ground with a thump. His mouth and face were white and stiff with cold and he could barely move. The three of them helped Rory into the school hall, where it was, mercifully, quite a lot warmer.

"Finally!" breathed Benny in relief, massaging life back into his frozen fingers and nose. Gradually, Rory thawed out.


	3. IC - 3 - This is the Way We Go to School

**This is the Way We Go to School**

By the time the ice had finally melted from Rory's hair, the four of them were standing in a considerable puddle of water that was spreading around them, and getting very strange looks from the students coming through the door. Not wanting to get caught flooding the hallway, they slipped off to the canteen and sat at a table to interrogate Rory.

"So, what did you see?" asked Ethan. Rory stared blankly at them.

"Well, you guys, I guess…?" he said, confused.

"No, I mean last night – when you were frozen to the tree."

"Oh, right, well, I'd turned up early for my date with Erica -"

The others glanced at each other and exchanged smiles.

"- and I thought that I would surprise her, so I went up into the tree. I was going to jump down when she turned up, to see if I could scare her."

"You do already…" muttered Benny, causing Sarah to smother a grin. Rory remained oblivious.

"After a few minutes, though, this mist started to fill the air below. It started at the road outside the school, and gradually covered everywhere, just above the ground. It really stated to get cold, and wherever the fog had been was frozen. It was really cool."

"How did you get stuck to the tree?" asked Sarah.

"The mist then did something really strange. It bunched up in the middle of the path. I couldn't see what happened there because of the branches of the tree, but then it flattened out again, and headed straight for my tree. It climbed up towards me, like it was seeking me out."

"Why didn't you just fly away?" interjected Benny.

"Erica asked me to be there. I wasn't going to miss it for anything, and Rory the vampire is not afraid of some mist! When it reached my branch, it swirled around me. In moments, I was stuck, with one eye open and one eye closed. The mist soon went away, and it wasn't very long after that when Erica arrived. I was frozen solid and couldn't say anything. She hung around for a bit, getting madder and madder, before flying off somewhere else. I gradually regained some control over my movement, by which time you guys had arrived, with Erica, who was still mad. Then I made a noise and you saw me, and Sarah brought me down, and I came inside with you, and then –"

"Yes, Rory, we know that bit," sighed Ethan. "Do you remember anything about a mulberry bush –"

- "_Tree! - _

"-in the middle of the path?"

Rory shook his head. "I don't think there was one when I came to school, but I couldn't see what happened when the mist bunched up."

"So, this mist, the cold, and the plant _are_ related, then," mused Sarah. Ethan nodded.

"I have no idea what will happen next, though," said Ethan.

"Er…guys?" said Benny, gesturing at the window. "I think I might have a suggestion."

They turned to look. It was snowing. Rory's face lit up. "TOO COOL!" he yelled. The others went to give him an exasperated look, but he had already zoomed off to be in the snow.

"We're going to have to go out there again, aren't we?" moaned Benny.

"Yep," said Ethan, brightly, zipping up his coat again, and making for the door with Sarah.

Benny groaned and reluctantly followed his two friends into the corridor. It was in chaos, and, for once, they'd had nothing to do with it. Kids of all years were dashing for the door, with teachers proving ineffectual at stopping them, and one or two even joining in.

"It's only a bit of snow, why is there all this rush?" asked a bemused Sarah.

"It's not just a bit of snow!" breathed Benny, his eyes glinting as he looked out of the glass doors to the school.

He was right. Huge piles of snow were banked in the schoolyard, with even more falling to boost the bulging mounds. This was an unnaturally large amount of snow even for the depths of winter, let alone the incongruity of it being high summer. As they watched, the snow drifts grew, pressing against the school entrance, and becoming waist-deep on even the tallest students. The teachers gave up, and the remaining ranks of pupils surged past to spread out across the snow.

"That's quite something," murmured Ethan. Then something caught his attention: the mulberry tree. Despite the sheet of white, and the continual torrent of snowflakes, it was little more than lightly dusted, and even from inside Ethan could see the shine on the black fruit. "There's definitely something weird about that plant."

"Yeah. Come on, let's go and investigate!"

Ethan looked sideways at Sarah. "That's not just because you want to play in the snow, is it?"

She bit her lip, her sign of embarrassment now that she no longer had the blood to blush. "Maybe a bit..."

"Hey, we can have fun and save the school at the same time, can't we Benny? Benny?"

Ethan looked around for his friend. He was gone. Looking back outside, he picked him out from the crowd, helping Rory to gather up snow. He rolled his eyes. "_Now_ he's happy to go outside," he said to himself. Sharing an amused glance with Sarah, Ethan headed towards the door, bracing himself for the cold.


	4. Ice Cool - 4 - Here We Go Round

**Here We Go Round…**

Once outside, the pair made a beeline for Benny and Rory. "Hi!" the two chorused, busy with their snowman. "Want to lend a hand?"

"Well, I really think we should check out the tree again…" started Ethan.

The other three pouted. "Oh, come on, E., it can wait a few minutes!" Benny wheedled. "If you help us, we'll be finished even faster."

Ethan had never been able to hold out against that tone of voice in all the years he'd known Benny, so, though he felt it to be against his better judgement, he soon caved, and broke into a broad grin. "OK, just this once. What are you making?"

The two spoke at once. "Try saying that again, individually," said Sarah.

Benn glanced at Rory, who motioned him to go first. "An accurate scale model of the battle of Hoth!" Sarah sighed, Ethan's eyes lit up, and Rory glared at Benny.

"No, we're making a snow sculpture of my true love, Erica!"

At the mention of her name, Erica appeared at Rory's throat. "Don't you dare associate yourself with me!" She looked about at Benny and Ethan, who smiled awkwardly. "And I can't be seen with you dorks!" With that she was gone, leaving a dazed Rory staring at the space where she had been.

"She spoke to me!" he gushed dreamily. He frowned. "But she told me not to make a sculpture of her… How do I show her my love?" The confused vampire stared wildly at the other three. Sarah rolled her eyes, put a hand on his shoulder, and said, in her best babysitting voice:

"Why don't you make a vampire snowman, but not make it look like Erica. You'll know, though, and that's all that matters."

With that, Rory cheered up enormously, and went back to glowering at Benny. "We're making my statue"

"Hoth!"

"Statue"

"Hoth!"

Rory gave Benny a shove, sending him flying into one of the ever deepening snow drifts. Sarah stepped between them. "Guys, I think there's more than enough snow for everyone." The two nodded shamefacedly. "Right, well, Rory and I will make the statue, whilst Benny and Ethan make nerd world."

Ethan was about to protest, but Sarah cut him off. "I know that's what you want to build, Ethan."

He nodded. Benny drew himself up. "We shall ignore your slur on our replica planet, Sarah, and let you get on in peace."

With that, the three of them fell about laughing, until Rory said: "Sarah, come _on!_ I need more snow!" She went to help him in his earnest project, and Ethan and Benny sketched out how high they had to build to get an accurate scale model. As they began to shape snow, Ethan realised that he had foolishly left his gloves in the canteen. He was having too much fun to go and get them now, so just carried on building, following Benny's directions meticulously.

A fair while later, all of them were satisfied with their creations. Ethan and Benny's model even distracted Rory from admiring his definitely-not-Erica snowman. "This is awesome, guys!" The two of them grinned proudly. Sarah raised an eyebrow.

"You remembered it all _perfectly_?"

"Well, we have seen the film often enough," said Ethan, a little sheepishly.

"38 times this year!" declared Benny with pride. Ethan lowered his eyes and blushed. Sarah merely shook her head.

"I just don't know where you two get the time."

Ethan's face suddenly froze in horror. He looked at his watch. "We've been playing in the snow for ages. We've got to check out that mulberry bush!" He turned and headed for the plant, followed by the others.

"It's a tree – oh, like anyone's listening to me," grumbled Benny, raising his hands in despair.

When they reached it, it still had very little snow on it, despite the hours that had passed, during which the snow had not stopped falling. "OK, I'm with you guys now, there's something seriously freaky about this tree," said Benny, prodding a branch.

"Careful!" warned Ethan, leaning into the plant. His hand brushed against one of the plump berries and –

_Images flashed through Ethan's mind. The fruit was being passed around and eaten. There was laughter, and he saw hundreds of people holding hands. Then the world seemed to spin, and all the people turned white. He heard the laugh that had woken him that morning._

– Ethan's eyes returned to their usual colour, and he started to breath normally again. Sarah and Benny looked at him, concerned.

"A vision?" asked Benny.

Ethan nodded. "There's something bad going on with these berries."

There was a small noise behind them. "Erm… Ethan?" They turned to look at Rory. His mouth was purple. "How bad?"

"You didn't eat the berries, Rory! But, you're a vampire, you don't need to eat…"

"They smelled just like blood. What's going to happen to –" Rory broke off, and gained a glazed expression. He stood stock still, gazing right into the middle of the tree. Suddenly, Ethan began to smell something incredibly familiar, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was. He did want to taste one of the berries, though. He could see from the expressions of the others that they felt the same way. Around them, the rest of the school began sniffing the air, and walking towards the plant. Before he could do anything, the ones nearest began to eat the fruit. Erica sped to the front, fangs bared, ready to seize on, what to her obviously smelled of blood. Desperate, Ethan forced himself to concentrate, and grabbed both Sarah and Benny.

"Don't eat the fruit!" he managed. Benny snapped out of it first, and instantly knocked the fruit out of Erica's hand.

"Gaming reflexes," he commented to Ethan, "I knew it would come in handy!" His grin vanished as he was confronted with a furious Erica.

"Poisoned fruit!" Ethan shouted, just in time to cause a brief hesitation and buy him enough time to drag the three of them away from the tree and towards the school door, pushing through the swarm of people heading for the plant. There was no way he could stop them.

Once inside, he and Benny slammed the door shut, cutting off the alluring spell. Both Erica and Sarah calmed down. "It doesn't smell of blood anymore…" said Erica, sounding a little disappointed. Sarah nodded in agreement.

"Hey, we just saved you!" pointed out Benny. Erica just flipped her hair back, but Sarah, staring out of the glass pane, was more appreciative.

"That's what could have happened to us!" she breathed. The other three lined up next to her and gaped at the scene outside. Hundreds of students and teachers were holding hands in concentric circles around the plant, shuffling slowly round and round, as if in a trance. Horrified, they stared fearfully at each other.

"How do we fight that?" asked Sarah.


	5. IC - 5 - This is the Way We Get Trapped

**This is the Way We Stay Trapped in School**

The four of them had some difficulty dragging their eyes away from the scene outside. They were mesmerised by the complete blankness of it, with just the gentle movement of the helpless victims going round and round the mulberry bush giving any sign of life to the entirely featureless snow scape. Ethan shuddered. He'd never thought of snow as frightening before, but now he only saw a dead emptiness.

"We've got to do something!" said Sarah, reaching for the door. Before it had opened more than a fraction, Ethan slammed it shut.

"No! We can't go out there unless we have some protection against the enchantment." He was right. In just that brief moment, the tantalising smell had seeped into the hallway, causing both Sarah and Erica to flash into vampire mode. With the door closed, they snapped back. "Come on, it looks like we'll be staying in school for a while longer.

Benny stared at the large clock on the wall and groaned. "It's already long past the end of school! No fair!" He sniffed. "What_ is_ that smell? It's frustrating that I can't place it. It's so familiar…"

"So, you dorks got any magic that will protect us?" asked Erica.

"Well, I've been working on a spell that removes your nose –" started Benny

"_Why?_" interjected Sarah.

Benny shrugged. "Just in case, I guess. And, hey, hasn't it now come in useful?" He centred himself and prepared the incantation: "_Nasus –"_

"Wait!" cried Ethan. Benny stopped.

"What?" he asked, innocently.

"I, er, think that there might be a less radical option." Benny's face fell.

"What might that be?"

"We go and get some clothes pegs from the laundry."

Benny pouted. "Well, you could do that if you wanted to be _boring._" Ethan walked towards to supply closet, followed by a relieved Erica and Sarah. "Fine. Be boring. But don't blame me if it turns out not to be as effective as removing your nose!" he called after them, before sighing resignedly and following.

"I didn't even know that the school had a laundry, and I really wouldn't have thought of looking in this cupboard," said Sarah as Ethan opened the door, revealing a set of stairs to the basement. "How do you know about it?"

Ethan blushed. "Well, er, Mum doesn't my t-shirts the way I'd like, because she makes them too starchy, so I come down here and wash them specially myself…" The other three gave him a strange look. "What?" he spluttered.

Erica laughed, and Sarah just shook her head. "Moving on from your clothing… How did you find it?"

"I figured that since this school had just about everything else –"

Benny nodded. "Yeah, ice rink, theatre, creepy basements…"

"- it should surely have a laundry room somewhere. I hunted about, and found it here." Ethan switched on the light and led them down the stairs.

"Of course, it had to be _in_ the creepy basement," complained Benny, but followed all the same.

At the bottom of the steps, Ethan turned on another light, illuminating a fairly large room. He went red, again, when he realised that quite a lot of his clothes were hung up around the room. "Another late night washing session, was it, Ethan?" asked Sarah, barely smothering a grin. "And you don't just wash your t-shirts here, do you?" Trying to cover his mortification, Ethan hurriedly tried to snatch all of his clothes and stuff them into his bag.

"You really are skinny, aren't you, nerd!" laughed Erica, holding up a pair of Ethan's shorts. Fuming, he grabbed them from her.

"Hey, some of this stuff is mine!" cried Benny. He turned to his friend. "Why have you been washing my clothes?"

"Someone has to," said Sarah, saving Ethan and sending Benny into a similar bout of embarrassment.

"Guys? Fun as this is, I think we need to focus on saving everyone!" said Erica. After she said it, she frowned and sucked in her cheeks. "Saying that felt really _weird_!"

"Yeah, Erica, that was almost concern for other people," laughed Benny. She glowered at him.

Ethan took the opportunity to grab four clothes pegs. He put one on his nose and handed the others out. Erica put hers on reluctantly. "This _so_ not cool. At least everyone else is frozen and can't see me like this."

They went back upstairs. Sarah was the last out, and noticed something on the line. "That's my jacket! Ethan!" she yelled up the stairs. Ethan smiled back nervously, and then shrugged. She put her hand on the material. "Not bad," she mused, and followed the others.

They were looking at the scene outside. The snow had fallen even more heavily, and now the figures of the transfixed people were covered in white. They were all still moving, but it was even slower than before. Ethan glanced around at the group. "Everyone got their pegs on? Let's go." Erica shoved the door open, pushing it past the build-up of snow.

"Is it me, or is it even colder out here than before?" asked Sarah, shivering. She wasn't wrong, as even their coats started to stiffen with the chill. Ethan, who still hadn't retrieved his gloves, shoved his hands deep into his pockets.

"We're going to have to hurry if we're going to help them," he said, "or we'll freeze to death out here."

"What are we going to do, exactly?" asked Benny.

"I don't know but they all seem to be under some kind of enchantment related to the fruit. If we can work out how it's binding itself to them, then maybe we can break the link."

The four of them ducked past the shuffling people, all of whom had their eyes wide open and staring straight ahead. "How many are there?" asked Sarah, as they past yet another row. To find out, Erica took off, and hovered some distance above them, before slamming back to the ground, her hair stiff with ice.

"There're hundreds of people, stretching out into the road. It looks like all of Whitechapel is here."

"My parents? Jane?"

"Grandma?"

Erica nodded. "It must be bad, if it's got grandma!" Benny, for the first time, looked worried. "This could be harder than we thought."

By this time, they'd reached the centre, and the plant, which was still laden with berries, and unaffected by the arctic conditions. Here, there was no movement. Benny started back when he almost walked into a frozen Rory, rooted to the spot and staring directly ahead at the crown of the tree. Apart from his face, which was blue, his entire body was caked in snow. "Rory?" asked Benny, fearfully.

The others came over. "He was the first, so he's the most far gone," said Ethan. "I expect everyone will get to be like this." He laid a hand on Rory's face –

_Ethan's mind reeled as it was filled with a stark whiteness. His vision was entirely blank. He felt nothing but cold inside. The only focus was the tree, which stood stark against all the white._

_- _He broke away and tumbled onto the ground. "We have to block out the tree. They're all staring at it, and it's filling their minds, and, somehow turning them into statues. If we don't stop it, everything will just end up like Rory – frozen and still for ever."

"We have to get rid of the tree, huh?" said Erica, a gleam in her eye. "Time for some extreme gardening. Anyone got an axe?"

They stared at her. "Why would we?" said Sarah. Erica shrugged.

"Then it will have to be the old-fashioned way." She readied herself for a flying kick, but before she'd even grazed the little plant, a wall of snow erupted around it, blocking it from view and catapulting them back to the school. As they crashed back to the ground, Ethan was sure that he'd seen something change in the ranks of the frozen. Some flicker of life.

Before he had time to process that, Erica flashed past him, furious, and trying to reach the tree again. The outermost figures suddenly crashed together, and Erica slammed into them. She tried and tried, but they blocked her at every turn. Even with her vampire's strength, she could rip them out of the way, even with Sarah's help. Then, the ice rose around the four of them, and closed in.

"That does not look good." Benny whimpered. It got closer and closer. Erica futilely snarled at it. As they backed away, Ethan banged into something. Twisting, he saw that they had been pinned against the school door.

"Quick, get inside!" he yelled. Once they were in, Benny slammed the door shut and murmured something. The glass flashed purple.

"That should keep it out," he said, pleased with himself. He looked about him. "No recognition for some awesome magic?" Benny looked out of the window with them, and realised why they weren't bothered. It was entirely covered with snow. There was no way they were getting out.

"I think we're staying here tonight, guys," said Ethan. "And, what's more, I think the heating's gone."

Sarah nodded. "There's no point going out there now. It's strong and ready for us, and we have no idea how to defeat it. We'd be better off resting, and coming up with a new plan." She looked across at Ethan and Benny. Now that the immediate danger was past, they looked exhausted. "Let's go to back to the laundry. It's well-insulated, and we've got Ethan's clothes to keep us warm!"

That raised a weak smile, and the four of them removed the pegs from their noses and wearily walked away from the mountain of snow outside.


	6. IC - 6 - A Colder and Frostier Morning

**A Colder and Frostier Morning**

Ethan eased awake drowsily. He was conscious of being near someone else, and couldn't quite remember why. Then he did. The snow, and the frozen people – they needed to be saved! But he had been so tired after their initial defeat; they all had been, even Erica and Sarah. They'd returned to the laundry and covered themselves in Ethan's washed clothes (as well as few of theirs that he had collected). They had all huddled together for warmth, which Erica had initially not been keen on, but as the temperature dwindled, she had bottled her pride and lain down next to Sarah. Now, though, they must all be rested, and ready to come up with a new plan. Still, it was very pleasant lying here, with the smell of the floral conditioner he used on his washing filling his nostrils. Ethan breathed in deeply. There was another smell there, too, one that was rather good. Blearily starting to force open his eyes, Ethan murmured: "You smell nice, Sarah…"

"Thanks, but I don't think you're actually talking about me," came Sarah's voice suddenly, from the other direction and a little way off. Ethan blinked awake immediately from the surprise. When he'd focused on the brown hair in front of him, he leapt back. He'd been smelling Benny's hair! He went quite pink, which grew worse when he saw Sarah smothering a laugh from the chair she was sitting in. Erica, who had been standing on the other side of the room was putting away her phone, and smiling to herself. "You were so funny, Ethan!" said Sarah, unable to contain herself. "And all the time you thought it was me."

Ethan just sulked in his embarrassment, but was rescued by Benny at last waking up. His friend looked about him. "Why are you two laughing? And why is Ethan so red? What did he do?"

"Nothing, Benny, really," chortled Sarah.

"Yeah," smirked Erica. "You really don't want to know."

In his desperation to try and stop Benny finding out any more, Ethan's brain went into overdrive.

Before the girls could say another word, Ethan stood up, and declared: "I've got it!" They dramatic effect was somewhat ruined by the colourful (but very well washed) t-shirts sliding off him to the floor. It at least stopped Sarah and Erica giggling. The three of them looked at him.

"Well?" asked Benny.

"If we're going to save everyone, we're going to have to break the link with the tree."

"We know that, and we tried yesterday," countered Erica.

"Yes, but as we were flung away from the tree by the snowdrift, I saw a tiny flicker of life, just for a moment." Sarah's eyes suddenly gleamed as she understood.

"You think that the spell only works if they can see the tree. When it's blocked from view, like it was yesterday, even for only a moment, they break out of it."

"Exactly. We don't have to destroy the tree, only hide it from view. Done for long enough, it should break its hold on people."

"What's to stop it just making them want to eat the fruit again?" asked Benny. "Because I don't think we've got enough pegs."

Ethan frowned, deep in thought. "What about… What about if we bury it? Then it can't be seen, smelt, heard or anything. Also, it's just a plant, so if it doesn't get any sunlight it will die naturally."

"What would we bury it with, though?" Sarah queried. "The ground is completely frozen, and buried under several feet of snow."

Erica grinned. "I think you've missed the obvious, Sarah. Bury it with snow. There's enough of it around." Ethan nodded in agreement.

Benny stood up and cracked his knuckles. "This sounds like a job for _magic_!" He looked at the others, expecting an appreciative reply.

"Well, _duh!_" said Erica, rolling her eyes and stalking up the stairs, closely followed by the others.

Once again, the four of them were staring at the doors to the school, which were blocked by snow. The light just filtering through some of the drift gave the hallway a strange blue-green glow. "This is quite… peaceful," said Sarah, admiring the light.

"Yes, but remember that it comes it the expense of everyone else." At that Erica shrugged casually, but Sarah looked a little shamefaced at her distraction.

"How do we get out, then?" asked Benny.

"We open the door," said Erica derisively, forcing it open. Although she had cut a channel in the tightly packed snow from the force of her opening the door, which she now strode defiantly into, the snow seemed to rear up and close in on her. Kicking at it wildly, Erica struggled, but the others watched in dismay as she was engulfed by the snow. The door crashed shut under the weight of the snow again, and they were just as trapped as before.

Ethan and Benny gaped at the space where Erica had just been. "Shouldn't we do something?" asked Benny. "She could be crushed."

Sarah shook her head. "Erica will be fine. She's a vampire, remember. She'll be angry when she gets out, but for now our best bet is to defeat the tree, and end the enchantment."

Ethan paced up and down in the semi-darkness. "We can't get out, as it seems to be able to detect us. If that had been me or Benny we would be squashed flat. So, we have to work out a way of stopping it while we stay in here."

Benny thought. "Is there anything we've got on the outside? Erica's trapped; Grandma's a statue, as is Rory…"

"Rory! That's it!" Sarah burst out. The other two looked at her as if she was crazy.

"But Rory's a frozen snowman, how can he help?" asked Ethan.

Sarah shook her head. "No, not Rory, his statue!" The boys just looked even more confused. "The one of Erica? That I helped him build yesterday?"

Ethan suddenly caught on. "Oh, I see! Do you think it's big enough?"

Sarah nodded. "It's about twenty feet tall."

"Yeah, that sounds about enough."

"How will it work?"

"I think Benny just needs to be able to see it."

Benny was looking from one to the other with a bemused look on his face. "Can you two catch me up? I have no idea what it is you want me to do."

Ethan turned to him and explained. "You need to animate the giant snowman that Rory made of Erica and get it to cover the tree."

"See, things are simple if you explain them properly," said Benny, dashing towards the stairs, "Come on, we need to get to a viewpoint above the snow."


	7. Ice Cool - 7 - Round and Round and Out

**Round and Round and Out**

The trio reached the top of the stairs and dashed into the nearest classroom overlooking the front of the school. For a moment, they were stunned by the scene outside. Where there had once been their town, admittedly sleepy, was now a frozen mass of white. Arrayed out from the glistening tree in the middle of the schoolyard were row upon row of fixed white figures. Everywhere was still and of a uniform colour, the snow having turned everything to a brilliant white. Even the weak rays of the early morning sun caused the whole town to light up with a mesmerising purity, and made the ice crystals that topped everything glitter. There was no denying that Whitechapel would probably never look more beautiful.

Yet even as they appreciated the wonder of the ranks of shining snowmen, they could still pick out the closest faces of those trapped within. They were frozen; open mouthed, eyes staring out - a picture of lifelessness. Whitechapel might not be as pretty, but it was certainly better with life and movement.

The three of them scanned the outside world for Rory's snowman. It was just at the very edge of the enchanted lines, by the far wall of the school. It was gigantic, with even the heavy snowfall of the previous day and night barely changing its appearance.

Ethan turned to Benny. "Do you know how to do the spell?" Benny nodded.

"I've never tried to animate anything so large and complicated, though, but, I guess there's only one way to practise." He grinned confidently at the other two, who smiled back nervously.

"Well, it's the best shot we've got," said Sarah. "No pressure, then, Benny."

Ethan peered out of the window. "OK, well, the big snowdrift that got Erica is right below us, and I'm guessing that as soon as we open the window it'll come for us. So, Benny, you've got to be ready with that spell. Have you got it prepared?"

Benny nodded, and began to mutter into his hand. After a few moments, he glanced up at Ethan and nodded, without pausing in his recitation. Ethan flung open the window just as Benny said the last words of the spell. At the same time, a bolt of snow rocketed towards them, engulfing Ethan's arm as he held the window open. The purple billow flew from Benny's hands, and across to the giant snowman, where it vanished. Sarah slammed the window shut quickly, breaking off a large chunk of snow inside the room, but freeing Ethan's arm from its grip.

Ethan smiled in thanks, and rubbed his arm, which had turned blue with the cold just from that briefest of exposures. Now that it was detached from the main body of the snow, the broken lump of snow lay inanimate on the floor, although it showed no signs of melting.

The three of them returned to staring out of the window. "Did it work?" asked Sarah.

"I don't know," said Benny. "Nothing seems to be happen–"

As he said it, the snow figure in the distance shifted noticeably. With a thud that shook the classroom, it turned and moved towards the tree. The frozen figures tried to form a wall, as it had done with Erica, but it just crashed over them. The moving snow slid away from the school and rushed across to try and defend the tree, but, since the statue was also snow, it had no impact. On reaching the middle, the vast figure seemed to collapse in on itself, and then pitched forwards over the tree. In an instant, the tree had disappeared from view.

They waited to see if their idea had worked. Nothing seemed to change. Then Ethan felt his feet and ankles becoming wet. He looked down and smiled. The others followed his gaze. The broken off lump of snow had completely melted, drenching Ethan's trainers. The three of them laughed with relief. The spell was broken. Peering outside, they saw the snow gradually recede, and, slowly, starting from the outermost ring, the snow statues come back to life.

"Come on," Benny, "let's see if everyone's OK!" The hurried downstairs and out of the now unblocked doors. Once out, they immediately ran into a furious, and soaked, Erica, no worse for wear for her fight with an avalanche. She was soon complaining to them about the ruin of her clothes, though, and held them all responsible. The three of them shared a grin. It was reassuring to have the old Erica back, and not having her show concern for others. She was, of course, only talking to Sarah now:

"Well, I'm going to get some clean, dry clothes now. See you, Sarah." With that, she brushed past them and squelched back into school. They pushed on through the crowd of confused, cold and wet students and teachers, before reaching the gigantic pile of snow that lay where the mulberry tree had stood. In front of it, still thawing, stood Rory. He was rooted to the spot, but now he was just staring sadly at his ruined monument to Erica.

"Hey, Rory!" said Ethan cheerfully. "Your statue of Erica saved everyone."

"It did?" asked Rory, a smile plastering itself across his stiff face. "That's a good use, then." He turned to face them, with some difficulty. "Was Erica really worried about me? Did she try and save me?" He looked so hopeful, that others were forced to nod.

"Yeah, Rory, of course she was," they said together. On reflection, given Erica's unusually eager attempts to defeat the plant, perhaps there was some truth in it. When they realised that, the three of them all shared rather a shocked expression, before, as one, dismissing the idea.

"I have to go and find her!" Rory exclaimed, zooming off.

"You know, he's going to be even worse now that he's had to stand still for an entire day," sighed Ethan. Benny nodded in agreement. "Come on; let's see if our families are OK."

As they walked, Sarah was struck by something. "We may have defeated the mulberry bush," she paused, glanced at Benny's expression, and then continued, "- _tree_ -, but where did it come from?"

"Just a freak of nature, I guess," said Ethan, shrugging. "A mystery."

"Hmm…" Sarah frowned, but then shook the thought away. "You're probably right. Hey, it's your ice planet!"

The three of them stopped. "So it is!" said Benny. "It's a bit melted, though. In fact, it's pretty much destroyed."

"Aww, and you guys spent so much time on it!"

They both shrugged. "It's only snow. It always melts eventually," said Ethan. Benny nudged him.

"You know where it always is, though!" Ethan grinned.

"Yeah, on DVD at home. Fancy coming over and watching it?" Ethan glanced over at Sarah, who was hiding a smile. "You can come, too, if you like?" he said, hurriedly.

She shook her head. "No, once was enough for me." She walked with them to the gate, where a tall blonde figure was waiting for her. "Hi, Erica. You changed fast."

"Yeah, well, there are meals to catch up on!" she replied. Looking about to see if anyone was watching, Erica dumped a bag into Ethan's hands. "These are for you to wash, nerd."

Ethan looked at them, and then back at Erica. He smiled nervously. "Of course!"

"Good nerd." With that, Erica turned and flew away, closely followed by Sarah.

Ethan spotted his parents and Benny's grandma talking by the gate.

"Hi boys," said his mum, "Did you enjoy your snow day?"

They glanced at each other. "Yeah. It was great," said Ethan.

"Looks like it's going now, though," added Benny. "I'm going to Ethan's now grandma, so I'll see you later." She nodded, as usual, but seemed preoccupied with something. Once Benny, Ethan, and his family had turned away, she started to stare at where the tree had been, frowning deeply. Sniffing the air, she shivered, and then walked thoughtfully away.

As the five of them walked towards Ethan's house, his mum looked at the two boys and asked: "Would you like some toast and some of my new jam when you get in?"

"What flavour jam?" replied Ethan.

"Mulberry."

Benny and Ethan glanced at each other, and their lips twitched into a smile.

"No, thanks!" they chorused.


	8. Episode 2 - Knight Time - Part 1

**This carries on loosely from the previous events, so I've decided to turn this story into a sort of parallel series. It will (hopefully) be made up of episodes, and we'll see how far I get. Comments are enthusiastically received!**

**I apologise for the terrible pun.**

* * *

**Knight Time**

* * *

**O what can ail thee knight at arms?**

Ethan leaned back in his chair contentedly. It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon, with brilliant sunshine beating down on him. There was no indication that there had ever been the cold snap of the previous week, though the news still went on about it. Now, Ethan had a book, a glass of lemonade, and a completely free afternoon. He intended to relax, for what felt like the first time in months. He flipped open his book and started to read.

He didn't get very far. After only a few minutes, a shadow fell across him. Hoping that it was just a passing cloud, and that the sun would be out again soon, Ethan frowned and looked up. He was rewarded with an eyeful of water. Blinking rapidly, he stared through his blurry vision at the shape above him. "Rory!"

"Hi, Ethan!" The cheery vampire slowly came into focus. In one hand he was holding a water pistol, and it was this that Ethan glared at. He looked about him for something to throw, but eventually just settled for hissing angrily at him.

"Get down, _now_, before someone sees you!"

Rory flushed. "Oh, yeah…" He dropped out from the sky. Ethan, by now much experienced at Rory's inaccurate flight, had had the foresight to roll out of the way and onto the grass before Rory crashed onto the chair. There was a muffled "Ouch!" before Rory twisted around to look at Ethan. "I was expecting you to stay there and break my fall!"

Ethan shook his head. "Not after last time. You almost broke my nose." Rory nodded sheepishly, then glanced at what was in Ethan's hand.

"What are you reading?"

Ethan hurriedly shoved the book down the back of the chair. "Uh, it's not important," he said, flustered. He changed the subject. "Anyway, why are you here, Rory?"

Rory frowned. "Erm…" Ethan waited patiently, idly wondering if he should return to his book in the meantime.

Suddenly, Rory brightened: "I remember! Benny wanted you to come over and see something he found."

"What is it?"

Rory shook his head apologetically. "I don't know."

"He didn't say?"

Rory looked embarrassed. "I think he did, but as he was talking, well, there was this rat, and it looked _really_ tasty…" He tailed off to see Ethan looking rather green at this information.

"OK, Rory, I get it!" he said hurriedly. Leaving behind what had promised to be a comfortable afternoon in the sun, Ethan quickly finished his drink and then motioned to Rory to lead the way to Benny's house.

Rory took him around to the back, where they were met by an excited Benny. "Hey, E! You'll never guess what I've found!"

"What is it?" After such a build-up, Ethan hoped that it wasn't going to be rather underwhelming.

"This!" exclaimed Benny, thrusting a helmet into Ethan's hands. It was in the bucket shape familiar from history classes (and films) about the mediaeval period. Ethan looked it over as Benny babbled. "It's like a proper knight would have from the olden days. I bet it's really rare to get one in such good condition! And to think that it's lain under Grandma's herb patch for centuries. Do you think it's real?"

Ethan's heart sank. He should have expected something like this. "So, you think that this belonged to a mediaeval knight?" His friends nodded enthusiastically. "Really?"

Benny frowned. "What do you mean?"

"We're in _Canada_, Benny! There were no knights – there wasn't even a mediaeval period!"

"Oh." Much deflated, Benny went red. "I should really pay attention in history class…"

Ethan nodded. "It's still cool, though," he added, seeing the despondent look on Rory and Benny's faces. Against his better judgement, he asked: "Did you find any more?"

Regaining their enthusiasm, the two of them showed him to the half dug up herb patch. "Grandma sent me out to clear out the herb patch for this year's new planting. She says that if I'm to use them, I've got to have a hand in growing them. Well, after digging down a little way, hit something solid. I scraped around it, and found that helmet. I used a bit of magic, and found an entire suit of armour."

They had reached the mound of earth where Benny was taking them to. In the excavated hollow lay a complete suit of armour, just as Benny had said. Despite his scepticism, Ethan was impressed by it. "It looks convincing, doesn't it?"

"Yeah. But you say it can't be real." Benny looked hopefully at Ethan as his friend's brow creased into a frown. "Or are you having second thoughts about it? Maybe I've found the first evidence of European settlement in Canada!"

"No, it's not that. Your archaeological dreams can wait. Who put it there?" Ethan felt his lazy afternoon slipping away from him. He was also struck by a thought that made him a little anxious.

Rory noticed the change in his expression. "What's wrong?"

"It's just, well, why is it here, and why have we only found it now? There's bound to be something supernatural going on here. It just doesn't feel right."

"It seems harmless enough," reasoned Benny.

"Yeah… Still, I'd like to check out who owned this house before your grandma. Would she know?"

"Probably, but she's out of town at the moment. An 'earth priestess development day' or something."

"You mean a coven?" asked Ethan.

"Pretty much, but they don't call them that anymore. So grandma says. As she's not here, though, you'll have to look elsewhere. Would the library have records?"

"Good idea," said Ethan. "Come on!" He walked off.

"Hey! Who said I was coming?" shouted Benny.

"You always do," replied Ethan. He paused by the road and counted to five. By the time he'd reached three, Benny was standing next to him, and Rory was already zooming away.

"To the library!" he cried as he passed them. A moment later, he came back, a bit embarrassed. "The library's the other way, isn't it?"

"Yep," laughed Ethan, and led them down the street.


	9. Knight Time - Part 2

**Alone and palely loitering**

Whitechapel public library was a surprisingly imposing building for such a small town, Ethan often felt, but it was always reassuringly solid. It was a tall, square, red brick monstrosity that entirely lacked Gothic features, strange corners or creepy rooms. There was no chance of anything odd ever happening there; it just wasn't that kind of place.

The three of them entered, and Ethan politely asked to see the town records. They were directed to an area of library with microfiches containing back copies of the Whitechapel newspapers and large files containing various registers and local history references. It looked like this was going to be quite a search. Benny sat down and started to look through the old papers. "I know that grandma moved here about thirty years ago, so we won't need to look at anything more recent than that." The others nodded, and started their search, and there was silence for some time.

Rory was the first to speak. "There's something here about your house." They looked up at him. "No, it's just about how it was going to be knocked down for a theatre that was never built."

"Why wasn't it built? Anything mysterious?" asked Ethan.

"Doesn't look like it. They built it somewhere else instead."

"See," said Benny, "there might not be a problem after all!"

They went back to their reading.

"There's a story about how the owner fifty years ago sold it after hearing strange noises."

Benny shook his head. "That just happens if you leave the wrong windows open, Ethan."

After another while, Ethan reached the end of his wedge of papers. "I've gone all the way back to its construction, and there's nothing I can see that makes me suspicious."

Rory, also finished, shook his head. "It seems fine to me. Benny?"

"Benny?" repeated Ethan, when his friend didn't answer. He looked across. Benny was engrossed in what he was reading. Suddenly he glanced up at them.

"Apparently, the first guy to own the house was very rich, but eccentric. He's listed here as an enthusiastic collector of mediaeval equipment. Come and have a look."

The two of them came over and went to look down the eyepiece at once. The crunch that their heads made as they cracked together sent all the other people in the library wincing in pain. Despite this, it didn't stop them receiving disapproving looks from the librarians. Rubbing their heads, the three of them took turns in reading the little note.

"Where's this description from?" asked Ethan.

"His obituary," Benny replied. Ethan gulped.

"How long…?"

"About nine months after buying the house, and one month after receiving a large shipment of mediaeval armour."

Rory looked nervous. "They might not be related…

Ethan sighed. "This is Whitechapel. It's always related. What happened to the armour?"

"Um…" Benny scrolled through the pages. "It was sold off after his death-"

Ethan and Rory relaxed a little at Benny's words. "It's long gone, then," said Rory.

"-all except the latest acquisition which was presumed stolen. This was the apparent motive for his killing, it says here."

Ethan's eyes widened. "_Killing!_ You didn't say that before. How did he die?"

Benny looked up at them, and was now very pale. "He was run through with a sword."

The trio looked at each other nervously. "Time to worry, now, I think," said Ethan.

"It's OK," said Benny, trying to remain calm. "We just go back, and bury it again. With the armour underground for so long, everything's been fine, so if we just return everything to how it was, we'll be safe. We'll have saved the day without ever being in any danger. It's probably nothing anyway."

Ethan was dubious as to how far they could just bury all their problems, but it was a plan that offered some reassurance, so he agreed. "We'd best get back there as quickly as possible, then."

Standing up, he put his and Rory's papers back, before hurrying with his friends to the door. "Do you think we should call Sarah?" he asked, embarrassedly.

"I'm sure we can handle burying one suit of armour without Sarah to hold our hands. Besides, we've got Rory to do the heavy lifting," replied Benny. Ethan watched with some amusement as Rory puffed himself up at this statement.

"Yeah, I'm sure that we won't need anyone else," he said, trying to hide the note of fear in his voice.

"It's bound to be just a coincidence. It probably _was_ a robbery, and they just never found the culprit," argued Benny, desperate to try and believe that everything would be fine. Ethan nodded uncertainly.

"Maybe… I don't see why that's _im_possible," he replied.

"But it still doesn't explain why you have a complete suit of armour buried in your back garden, Benny," said Rory. "If there had been a robbery, why would it have been hidden there?" Ethan looked at him in surprise. That was an unusual moment of logical clarity for Rory, and he didn't know whether that, or the implications of Rory's point, unnerved him more.

"I don't know!" cried Benny, as they rounded the corner towards his house. "Perhaps the thief intended to come back for it once the fuss had died down, and just didn't. He could have forgotten. Or something." He didn't sound entirely convinced by his own argument.

"Maybe the thief was eaten by vampires!" declared Rory. Ethan looked at him in disbelief, and then remembered where he was.

"In Whitechapel, that's actually not impossible…" he mused.

Their bickering over what could lie behind the armour ceased when they reached Benny's house. Once there, the seriousness of what could be true weighed down upon them, and they drew closer together. "It's easy, guys," said Benny, with false confidence. "We just bury the armour and forget all about it."

Rather pale, they shuffled towards the mound of earth, which was just where they'd left it. Each of them surreptitiously tried to hide behind the others as they got closer.

"You should go first, Benny, since you found it!" stammered Ethan.

"No, Rory should go, just in case," said Benny. Rory tried to protest, but Benny pushed him in front. "Well, you are the only one who's immortal, Rory!"

"Maybe, but I'm still scared!" He stopped suddenly, digging his heels into the ground, and the other two walked right into him. Rory and Benny then looked at Ethan, hopefully.

"I wasn't even involved!" he squeaked.

Benny winced, and then gathered himself together. "Fine! I'll go. It's only a suit of armour." He strode forward confidently, and looked over the top of the mound. He went very still, and even from behind Ethan and Rory could see that he'd gone grey. They hurried up behind him and looked over his shoulder.

The armour was gone.


	10. Knight Time - Part 3

**The sedge has wither'd from the lake**

The three of them stared down at the empty hollow, trembling with fear.

"Do you think it might have been stolen?" asked Benny, in a cracking voice.

Ethan pointed a shaking finger at a pair of footprints in the earth where the armour had lain. "I don't think so. It seems to have just walked away." He looked at benny with wild eyes. "It could be anywhere by now."

"So we've just released an apparently murderous suit of armour into the world, and we have no idea where it could be?" asked Benny. Ethan and Rory nodded dully.

"Surely it should be easy to find?" put in Rory. "We just follow the sound of clanking metal."

"But I don't think it's got a body. There nothing for it to connect with." Ethan paled even further. "It could move silently!" As one, they moved until they were standing in a triangle, so that one of them could see in every direction.

"By the look of these footprints, it looks like it headed away from the house," said Rory.

"Should we follow it?" asked Benny, not really wanting the answer to be a yes.

Ethan shook his head. Realising that the others couldn't see this, he gave his reasons out loud. "We can't do anything about it until we know what it is. I think that we should find out what we're dealing with, and then go out and confront it."

"OK, then, that's today's plan," breathed Benny. "But how are we going to find out about it? It's quite a specific problem."

"I don't know," said Rory, "I mean, living suits of armour turn up all the time in movies. They must be based on something."

"That's a good point," said Ethan, nervously scanning the garden for signs of the armour. "There might be something on it in your magic book, Benny."

"Maybe. There's a lot I haven't covered yet." The three of them started to edge towards the house. "I hope it _has_ stayed outside," he said, as they reached the back door. Looking about them, it seemed clear, and one by one they slipped inside. Benny closed the door behind them, and they cautiously made their way through the house. Thankfully, it was empty, although every creak made the boys jump. "Come on, let's do some research!"

"That's all we ever seem to do these days," moaned Rory. "Why can't we just randomly attack it?"

"Because whenever we do that it always works, doesn't it Rory?" replied Benny.

"Er…" Rory ran through their past adventures in his mind. He winced. "OK, finding stuff out first sounds good to me!"

"Thought it might," muttered Benny.

"Can we hurry this up?" interjected Ethan. "That thing could be anywhere, doing anything!"

"Like building a massive laser to fire at Mars?" asked Rory, interested. The other two just looked at him blankly. "Like in Space Lasers to Mars 3?" he added, hoping that it would clear up the confusion.

"No…" said Ethan, slowly, his eyes glazing over. He frowned. "What happened in 'Space Lasers to Mars' 1 and 2, then…?" He suddenly shook his head violently. "Forget it, Rory, I _don't_ want to know!"

Before Rory had time to respond, fortunately they had reached Benny's room. Once inside, Ethan locked the door. "Just in case it does get in the house," he explained, seeing their confused looks. "Now, hurry, Benny, we may not have much time."

On the desk was the spell book. Benny opened it, and flicked through the wrinkled pages to the index. "Now, armour, armour…" he muttered as he ran his finger down the page.

"Probably under 'A'," chipped in Rory.

Benny glanced at him, and then rolled his eyes at Ethan. Rory didn't notice. "Yeah, why didn't I think of that… Ah, here we are! Armour – the animation of. It's on page 596. That's pretty advanced stuff!"

He rifled through the book until he reached the page. They waited in silence for him to read it. As he did so, his eyes widened, and he eventually looked back up at them with a very worried expression on his face.

"No wonder I haven't learnt it yet. It's extremely complex and very dangerous."

"So what is it?" asked Ethan.

Scanning the page again, Benny explained:

"It requires the magician to summon a demon and bind it to the waiting armour. Now, even just summoning a demon is _very_ high level magic, and to force it into an object requires even more power. Once attached to the armour, the demon cannot be removed – it's stuck forever."

"Not a very happy demon, then," said Rory.

"Exactly. It can then move the armour at the magician's command, and is unusually strong, tireless and skilled as a result. They are," (here Benny looked at the book) "'almost impossible to defeat by magic, since their presence requires magic to sustain them.' Essentially, whenever magic is used near it, it sucks it in and becomes stronger."

Ethan's eyes snapped open as he realised something. "That's why it remained dormant for so long. It ran out of magic, and it wasn't until you used some in digging it up that it was revived."

Benny nodded, abashed. "Yeah… Oops."

Ethan frowned. "Then why can't we just contain it and wait for it to run out of power? You can't have used much magic."

Benn shook his head. "Unfortunately, 'not much magic' in this case runs to about ten years of demon operation. There's no way we can wait that long."

"So, how do we deal with it?" asked Rory.

"Well, without magic. According to the book, when the demon is bound into the armour, it loses part of its personality, and, as it does so, becomes enmeshed with the ideas of honour. Over time, it gradually comes to believe itself to be a knight, so strongly, in fact, that if it is defeated in a duel, it is destroyed, for it comes to think that it has no other purpose."

"So we just have to go up against it and win?" said Rory.

Ethan sighed. "Yeah. _All_ we have to do is defeat a powerful, magic absorbing demon of unknown strength and experience. All we have is…"

"Me! This'll be easy!" cried Rory.

"But you don't know anything about fighting!" argued Ethan.

"Well, I've played enough games, watched enough movies!"

"That's probably part of why you're going to lose!"

"Am not!"

"Guys?" inyerrupted Benny. They broke off their argument to look at him. He pointed out of the window. The eerie figure of the knight stood in the garden, its helmet tilted towards them. It raised a mailed hand, beckoning them down. "I don't think we've got much choice…"

"Still think I shouldn't call Sarah?" asked Ethan.

"No!" replied Benny, oddly forcefully. "I _know_ we can do this. We don't always need Sarah!"

"But…"

It was too late. Benny, full of bravado, had already stalked out of the door. Ethan turned to give a confused look at Rory, but the blonde vampire had already hared off after Benny.

Looking around, Ethan made his decision. They did need Sarah. After a moment or two, hoping he wouldn't regret it, he followed his friends downstairs.


	11. Knight Time - Part 4

**And no birds sing**

The three of them huddled at the back door. "This is a very bad idea!" hissed Ethan. Benny looked at him.

"What choice do we have? At least it's decided to challenge us rather than go on a mad rampage across town."

"I guess…" said Ethan, uneasily.

"Come on guys, don't worry, Rory's here! Or should that be _Sir_ Rory!" Their friend grinned and burst out of the door. Benny made to follow him, but Ethan plucked at his stripy sleeve, holding him back. He turned around.

"Benny…" Ethan hesitated. He opened and closed his mouth a few time, as if try to from a sentence, but each time the words died in his throat.

His best friend stared reassuringly into his eyes. "What is it?"

"I…" Ethan blushed a deep red. His voice dropped to a whisper. "I'm _scared_, Benny! I don't think I can go out there."

Benny clapped a hand on Ethan's shoulder. "It's OK. I'm scared, too. But we've faced worse than an empty suit of armour."

"Well…" Ethan quavered, still unsure.

Benny smiled broadly at him. "Oh, stop worrying! Rory's gone out, and he's been fine so far. With the three of us, we'll make it. Besides," (here Benny leaned in closer) "we wouldn't want Sarah to find out that you shirked a chance to be a hero."

Ethan opened his mouth as if to reply, but then seemed to change his mind. He gulped, and nodded instead. Benny jerked his head away abruptly and spun to face the door again.

"All right, then. Ready?"

Ethan made a small noise, which Benny took for an agreement.

"Let's go."

He swung open the door for them to join Rory. Not five metres away stood the figure of the knight, absolutely still, the empty holes in its visor staring blankly at them. It was extremely unnerving. The motionless scene persisted for at least a minute, tension building across the yawning seconds. Nothing could be heard except the rustling of the trees and the ragged breaths of the three fearful boys.

"OK," whispered Benny. "It has to be one on one."

Rory looked back at them and extended his fangs confidently. "This one's on me!"

"But we've got no weapon!" pointed out Ethan.

"I can't imagine that it would allow an unfair match, though," said Benny. "Although, of course, it is a fighting machine, so, I suppose it won't allow a _more _unfair fight than it already is."

As if on cue, the figure drew its sword from its side and flung it at Rory, who squeaked in fear as it landed only inches away from his foot. "I guess this is mine, then," he said, pulling it out of the ground. He rotated his wrist like he'd seen in films, only to fumble and drop the sword as well as cry out in pain. Meanwhile, Benny was holding a clump of his hair that Rory had just accidentally lopped off.

Rory rubbed his wrist, wincing, and glanced at them. "Sorry, Benny!" he said, his eyes widening in shock. "It seems that it's not as easy as in the movies."

"That's OK, Rory," said Benny, through gritted teeth. He was a little shaken. "I've got more hair. Don't try it again, though, as I haven't got the ears, eyes, or looks to lose."

Even given their situation, Ethan couldn't help snorting at the mention of the last one.

"What?" exclaimed Benny, indignantly.

By this time, Rory had picked up the sword again, and Ethan was spared replying by the beginning of the duel. The armour drew an apparently identical sword and waited for Rory to advance. Snarling and baring his teeth, Rory sped forward, flailing wildly with the weapon.

Watching him, Ethan considered the possible outcomes. Rory was completely unskilled, but extremely fast and strong, due to being a vampire, and Ethan knew that, of the three of them, he was the one most likely to succeed. Also, Rory could fly, which was bound to be an advantage. If Rory lost, though… well, he didn't much fancy his or Benny's chances.

Rory was a blur around the knight, and it was almost impossible to see what was going on in the fight, but then something strange seemed to happen to Rory. He became less blurred as he slowed down, and soon Ethan and Benny could see the rhythmic pattern of _thrust_ – parry – _thrust – _parry going on between them. It was here that Ethan noticed that Rory clearly had no idea how to block the blade of his opponent, and was instead relying on his greater speed to avoid being skewered. But he was clearly losing that speed advantage. Looking across at Benny, Ethan saw his friend's face set in an anxious frown.

"Rory's slowing down," whispered Ethan. "Why?"

"I know he is – I think the demon in the suit can absorb his vampire powers as well as magic. Just by being near him, Rory loses strength and the armour gains it!"

Alarmed, and realising that Rory was by now the most vulnerable of the three of them in attacking the knight, Ethan made to shout to Rory, and bring him out of the fight before he got hurt.

He was too late. Too caught up in the frenzy of attack to notice his dwindling abilities, Rory had lifted himself into the air, still slashing with the sword as he did so. At this moment, the strength required to do so failed him, and he fell the short distance to the ground. As he dropped, the knight reacted, and levelled a blow with the flat of the sword blade to the boy. The force of this was enough to send the already weakened Rory flying across the garden towards Ethan and Benny. He landed with a thud, just in front of them, the sword falling from his hand and impaling itself between Ethan's feet.

The armour-clad spirit now regarded Ethan blankly. It was clear what he had to do. With a gulp of fear, and a terrified glance at Benny, Ethan gripped the hilt.

"No!" cried Benny, reaching for it. "You'll be –" He was cut off by a gesture from the knight, which froze Benny in position.

Ethan raised a weak smile. "I'm sure it'll be your turn in a minute, Benny." With that, he tugged the sword out of the grass and walked slowly towards the knight. He felt the weight of the sword in his hand. He'd never realised that swords were this heavy. They always looked so easy to use in films. He briefly looked down at himself. Then again, most of the sword wielding heroes in films didn't look like him. With an effort, he raised the blade and swung it clumsily at his opponent, which almost unbalanced him. With a casual movement, the knight raised its own blade, sending a jar of pain all the way up Ethan's arm as the two collided. Pulling away, Ethan could only hope that his abject uselessness would at least give him the advantage of being unpredictable.

Ethan lunged again, but the point was simply brushed aside by the armoured figure, and Ethan's momentum sent him spinning past. Regaining his balance, Ethan tried once more, desperately swinging the sword, but it was all in vain. In a single, deft, move, his opponent jammed the tip of his sword into the guard of Ethan's blade, and sent Ethan careering away towards the house, just as Rory had done. He landed by Rory, thumping into the ground with enough force to leave him dazed.

Lying prone on his back, Ethan was vaguely aware of Benny rushing past him, yelling. He heard the sound of clashing metal, then a crunch, followed by a small cry. The next thing he felt was Benny landing on top of him with some force, knocking the remaining wind out of Ethan. From beside him, he heard Rory whisper semi-deliriously: "Oh, _Benny _can land on you, fine!"

Too weak and battered to even understand what Rory was talking about, Ethan just stared upwards, wondering, in his confused state, what was going to happen next. A shadow fell across his field of vision. "Rory?" he croaked. "Is that you?"

He knew his mistake when he saw the silvered mask of the knight. Ethan stared into the blank slits, paralysed with fear, and certain that this was going to be the last thing he ever saw.

The figure raised its sword.

Barely conscious, Ethan could think of only one thing in his final moment. As his world slipped into darkness, he thought of it, and it gave him some comfort.

The sword swung down.


	12. Knight Time - Part 5

**La belle dame sans merci**

Ethan never saw the stroke that killed him.

On the other hand, he never saw the strike that saved him, either. Of the three of them, only Rory was vaguely conscious, and he was rarely entirely on top of his surroundings when he hadn't been badly beaten in a fight with a demoniacally possessed suit of armour. So the moment at which Sarah, having just arrived, scooped up the sword from where it had been knocked from Benny's hand, ran forwards, thrust out the blade like an iron bar and saved all three boys would forever remain only known to her.

The clang as the swords crashed into each other echoed around the garden. Its reverberations hung in the air as, slowly, the knight turned to face its new opponent. Sarah felt the thrill of fear that the others had experienced as she looked into the twin abysses of the eyeholes of the helmet. For a moment, she was completely absorbed in the void, almost as if she was draining away into it. Both of them remained absolutely still. Eventually, Sarah managed to drag her eyes away from the featureless face.

"I don't know what you are, but you are not touching these three!"

The knight tilted its helmet to one side, as if weighing her up. Then it attacked. Sarah backed away, vigorously defending herself from its slashes and stabs. The din of metal on metal rose in volume as the battle became more and more intense. Sarah, like Rory had before her, felt her supernatural strength begin to ebb. She knew instinctively that, given long enough, it would drain her of her power, and so remaining defensive would not be possible. Given the ferocity of its attack, and its absolute silence, a reasoned debate was probably out of the question, too.

Gathering her strength, Sarah struck back, forcing the knight onto the back foot. Now it was Sarah's turn to stab and slash, while the knight blocked every blow. This then gave way to a more balanced duel, with attack and defence bouncing between the pair. Neither could gain an advantage, however, and Sarah was weakening with every moment. Desperate, she cast around for something to break the deadlock. Her eyes alighted on a possible solution.

Aware that she was running out of energy, Sarah, glanced across at the pile of her friends, summoned her anger (as well as the protectiveness of her inner babysitter), and, snarling with rage, increased the pace of her attacks. It was only for a brief moment, but it was enough to send the armour backwards. It didn't go far back, yet Sarah only needed to force it to take another step. With a desperate lunge, Sarah used almost the last of her strength to push the knight back.

They had reached the mound of earth that Benny had created earlier, and this last effort had sent it tumbling backwards. The stiffness of its joints meant that the armour was unable to regain its balance, and it crashed into the pit out of which it had come. With a swift blow, Sarah flicked the sword out of its grip, and then placed the tip of her own sword at the base of the helmet, ready to claim victory.

It was already over. At the instant that it had been defeated and disarmed, the armour had seemed to weaken. With a clatter, it went limp, and each piece separated. The helmet tipped back and rolled away, daylight streaming through the empty eye-holes. An almost imperceptible wisp of black smoke issued from the suit of armour, and it rapidly dissipated in the late afternoon sun. Exhausted, Sarah leant heavily on the sword and wiped her brow. Using the weapon as a crutch, she turned and limped back to her friends.

By now, Rory had somewhat recovered, and was able to sit up. He stared blankly at the approaching figure of Sarah. "Wh - Wh - What happened?" he eventually managed. Sarah smiled tiredly.

"We won. It's over. How are Ethan and Benny?"

Rory twisted around to look, wincing at the pain. Benny was lying diagonally on top of Ethan, his head lolling back onto the ground. Rory checked them over. They were both breathing normally, and seemed not to be badly injured. Sarah hobbled over to the other side of the pair and leaned down, pressing a hand to each of their foreheads. They seemed cool enough, but not clammy, which was a good sign.

"How long do you think it'll be before they wake up?" asked Rory.

"Not long…" came a reply, followed by a long groan. The pair of them glanced down to see Ethan slowly open his eyes. Blinking at the sudden light, he rubbed his eyes and forehead with his free hand. "There's someone standing over me. Again. Who is it?" As he came to his sense and adjusted to the light, he smiled at them. "Hi Sarah, Rory…" he slurred. "My head…" He pulled a face. He then looked worried. "Where's Benny? And why does it feel like there's something really heavy lying on me?"

"Who are you calling 'really heavy'?" an aggrieved voice put in. Ethan raised his head up a little.

"Benny!" he grinned. "You're OK!"

"Yeah, but it was close. You see –" Ethan cut him off.

"Could you get off me before you tell your story?"

"Oh, sorry," Benny rolled off him and onto the grass. "Ouch. You're more comfortable than the ground, Ethan!"

Rory nodded. "Told you so."

"Yeah, well, um, I don't care – I'm not a cushion." Ethan levered himself up on his elbows and frowned. "The last thing I remember is the knight about to bring his sword down. Sarah, did you…?"

She smiled at him and brandished the sword. "I dealt with your little problem. He's just bits of metal now. What was that thing? It was like it was straight out of a really old horror film."

"It was a demon bound to a suit of armour. It had been dormant under the garden for years, until, er, I accidentally reanimated it," Benny explained, a little sheepishly.

"You see!" chipped in Rory. "We didn't need to do all that research. Sarah didn't even know."

"Maybe this time," said Ethan, cautiously. "But, Sarah, how did you defeat it? None of us could even get close."

"Well, sword fighting is taught to vampires by the Council, if you sign up for it."

"Really, like some kind of youth club?" asked Benny, incredulously.

Sarah nodded. "Only there's not a lot of 'youth'. As for the rest of the battle, it was really just using a bit of surprise with the little mound of earth to gain the advantage."

Ethan and Benny looked at Rory, who looked a bit sheepish. "I don't suppose you signed up for this?"

"Well…"

Sarah laughed. "He did, but he was banned from it after he ran Anastasia through in the first week."

The other fell about laughing at Rory's embarrassment. By the time they finished laughing, they all felt a little better, and Benny and Ethan struggled to their feet. "I guess we'd better bury that suit of armour," said Ethan.

"Aww, can't we take some as a souvenir?" wheedled Benny.

"No!" cried Ethan. "Who knows, just a carelessly cast stray spark of magic could reactivate it."

"So it's probably not a good idea to leave it in Benny's garden, then," said Rory, as they walked over to look at it. Benny looked offended, but the other three nodded.

"It would probably be best if we split up the pieces," said Ethan, "and then buried them across the town. That would make it impossible to reform and become dangerous."

"I'll do it!" said Rory. "I can fly around and bury bits randomly."

"OK," said Ethan, "but only if Sarah does the same with the other half. That way no-one will know where all the pieces are."

Nodding, Rory set about splitting the armour into two piles. Now back to his fully energetic self, he was soon done and zoomed away, waving a cheery goodbye.

Sarah gathered her half into a bag. As she did so, Benny looked at her gratefully. "It was really lucky that you arrived when you did, or Ethan and I would be dead, and Rory would be… inconvenienced." Ethan nodded in agreement.

Sarah smiled at them, broadly. "Well, you did call me."

As soon as he heard that, Benny felt something shatter within him.


	13. Knight Time - Part 6

**Thee hath in thrall**

"Well, you did call me," Sarah said. "I could hardly not come when I got Ethan's text!" She looked at Benny for a response, but he seemed to have frozen, his eyes wide as he stared at the ground. She waved a hand in front of him. "Ben-ny!" she called. He didn't move. "Are you OK?" He turned away from her suddenly to stare at Ethan.

Ethan was surprised by the dead expression on Benny's face. He frowned, confused. "What's wrong, Benny?" He gave what he hoped was a reassuring smile. His friend just glowered in reply. Ethan waited a little longer. "Benny? This is getting strange now! You're scaring me." He took a step towards him. At last, this moved Benny to speak.

"You – called – _her!_" he said, haltingly.

"Well, yeah. We needed her help, Benny, and –"

"I told you not to, and you – you just ignored me!" Benny blurted out raggedly.

Ethan backed away. "Hey, Benny, I'm sorry. I didn't think –"

"Exactly. You thought I wouldn't mind. Like you always do. You just decide that you know best, and that I don't know what I'm doing."

Ethan gaped. He'd never heard his best friend speak bitterly about anyone before, and he'd not expected to first hear it directed at him.

"But, _Benny_, Sarah saved our lives today. If I hadn't done it, we'd be dead."

"That's not the point!" exclaimed Benny, hotly.

"What do you mean?" argued Ethan. "Surely all that matter is that we're safe, and whatever we do to achieve that is justified!"

Benny slowly shook his head. "No, Ethan, you don't understand. You can't just do whatever you want, with no thought for other people, and hope it saves the day. There are things more important than that, Ethan."

"Like what?" retorted Ethan.

"Like trust, Ethan. Friendship. I don't want to think that whenever we do something, you're always coming up with some plan on your own behind my back."

"What! But –"

"No. You've gone too far this time, Ethan. You thought you knew best and –"

"I did!" yelled Ethan, his face red with emotion. "Calling Sarah was the right thing to do!"

Benny stared at him sadly. "But you didn't tell me, Ethan. You didn't trust me."

"But –" spluttered Ethan.

Benny stopped him by shaking his head. "Enough." He turned away.

"Benny…"

No answer.

"Benny!"

No reply.

Ethan went round to Benny's other side. "Benny?"

His friend just turned away again.

Ethan snapped. "Fine!" he shouted. Shaking with anger, he turned on his heel and marched away.

Benny stood absolutely still, drained of feeling.

"Um…" started Sarah, who had all the while been staring in horror and disbelief at the unfolding argument, "I think I should go…"

Benny glanced up and nodded. She gathered up the bag of pieces of the armour and made to go after Ethan.

"Sarah…?" Benny called after her, in a strained voice. She turned back. "Thank you – for saving us –" Benny stammered. "It's not that I'm not grateful, Sarah, it's just…" He trailed off and looked pleadingly at her.

Sarah nodded sadly. "I think I understand, Benny. A little." She bit her lip, and was about to say more, but Benny had turned his back on her, and was beginning to fill in the hollow in the garden, digging his spade violently into the mound of earth next to him and throwing it into the waiting pit. She didn't think that there was anything she could do at that moment. She hurried after Ethan.

* * *

Ethan had already put some distance between himself and the house by the time Sarah reached the road, but she soon caught up with him. He was still fuming, and very red. "Ethan?" said Sarah, moving in front of him. He looked up.

"I'm sorry, Sarah, that Benny was like that. It's so wholly out of character for him. I don't get it, and I can't believe that he was so ungrateful to you for saving us."

Sarah shook her head. "Ethan, that's not what's upset Benny. I don't think you understand –"

"I don't suppose I would," said Ethan through gritted teeth, pushing past Sarah and on towards his house. "It's not like I've known him all my life."

Sarah hurried along beside him. "No, Ethan, I think it's just that…"

He turned sharply to face her. "What, Sarah? That I didn't tell him when I phoned you? That I prevented him from doing something stupid? That I stopped us from getting killed?"

"Ethan –" Sarah started, but he had stalked off again. Sarah followed in silence until they were at his house. Sarah tried one last time. She gripped his wrist and dragged him around to face her.

"Ethan! You and Benny have to sort this out. You need to see each other's point of view, and talk it over."

Grimacing, Ethan tugged his hand from Sarah's. "There's nothing to discuss. He's just wrong."

With that, he refused to say any more about it. Resigned to their mutual stupidity, Sarah dropped the subject, and then followed him to where he had set up his chair at the start of the afternoon. "Are you sure you're OK, physically? You were out cold for a while."

"I'm sure it'll only be a few bruises. I'm fine, Sarah. I'll just go back to my book." He went to reach for where he had stuffed it earlier.

Anxious to change the subject, Sarah asked: "What are you reading?" Before Ethan could reply, she had picked up the book.

Even after all that had happened, she still laughed as she saw what it was. "_Dusk!_ I don't believe you, sometimes."

Ethan glared at her. "Go away," he snapped, half-jokingly, but also with some real feeling. Sarah recognised it, and turned away.

"I'll just get rid of these pieces, then. Bye, Ethan."

She got no reply, but knew better than to look back. It was as well that she didn't, as finally overwhelmed by the emotion of the dangers of the day, and then the sudden and completely unexpected break with his best friend, Ethan had dissolved into silent tears. Hiding behind his book, Ethan sobbed and tried vainly to work out what had gone wrong.

* * *

At the same time, Rory had just returned to Benny, who had finished filling in the hollow, and was now sitting miserably on the back step. Rory, of course, was entirely unaware of what had gone on between the friends. "Hi, Benny! All done." He looked into Benny's face. "Your eyes are really red. Hay fever? I used to get that, before I became a vampire." At this moment content just to let Rory babble on, Benny stared straight ahead, until something that Rory said startled him out of his daze.

"When I went unconscious earlier, I saw Erica in my head. Did you see someone when you were knocked out?"

Benny looked across at him and blushed. "Well, er, I don't know if I should say..."

Rory broke into a grin. "Oh, I know. You saw Erica, too, didn't you? That's OK. But I'm afraid you've got no chance. Not with Rory in the picture." He grinned, and Benny couldn't help smiling as well, but didn't reply. "Benny? It was Erica, wasn't it?"

Benny looked across and slapped Rory on the back, before getting to his feet and heading inside.

"Of course it was, Rory. Who else could I think about?"

* * *

**That's the end of episode 2. Episode 3 won't be up for a little while, as I'm away for about a week, but please review in the meantime!**


	14. Episode 3 - Wasteland - Part 1

**This is in a slightly different style to previous ones, focusing more on the relationships between characters. Please tell me what you think.**

* * *

Wasteland

* * *

**Here is no water but only rock**

Ethan woke up and lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling. He gazed at it for quite a while, his eyes lighting on every significant star cluster, for his ceiling was a map of the night sky. Suddenly, he was startled from his usual calm morning exploration of space by the memory that Benny had helped him chart it out. Turning irritably onto his side, Ethan struggled with the desire to tear the whole thing down, so that it wouldn't remind him of his former best friend. Still, he thought, it was a shame to waste such an accurate project...

As he though these things, he gradually became aware of an odd sensation on his cheek. He realised that his pillow had become stiff with tears; tears which he'd been crying spontaneously at random intervals since the argument that they had had the previous Sunday. The tears fell with mixed emotions: sometimes they were angry; sometimes they were frustrated; sometimes they were guilty – but mostly they were expressions of grief. Ethan had never imagined that a single event could have made him so sad, but, then again, he'd never even imagined this happening. It hadn't seemed possible that they would fall out so badly – and over nothing more than contacting another friend – and that to save their lives! Ethan just couldn't understand why it had happened. He knew, though, that this was more than a superficial blow to their friendship - in fact, he felt as if it was completely destroyed. That was what made him so upset. Even as he lay there thinking about it another tear rolled down his cheek and onto the pillow.

Wiping it roughly away, Ethan got out of bed. Pulling back the curtains, he looked out at the morning. The sun was shining and it looked as if it was going to be a beautiful summer's day. That only soured Ethan's mood. How could everything be normal _now_? With an angry sigh, Ethan twisted away from the window and went to have a shower, and tried to push Benny out of his mind. It was difficult, though, as, after years of friendship, almost every corner of his room held some kind of memory. Even as Ethan dressed, he found some of Benny's clothes in his cupboards, some of which he had been washing, the others which he had adopted as his own. Not knowing what to do with them, Ethan just picked out what he knew to be his and ignored the rest. Taking one last irritable glance around his room, Ethan wandered down to get breakfast.

As far as his family were aware, of course, what had passed between Ethan and Benny the previous afternoon hadn't happened. His mum chatted happily about the two of them as Ethan poured himself some cereal, unaware of the hurt it was causing him. As he ate his cereal, Ethan couldn't help glancing out of the window, as he always did, expecting Benny to come past and knock on the door. Halfway through his toast, Ethan just spaced out; staring blankly at the window, as if Benny was going to come round and everything would be back to normal. His daze was broken by a shout from his mum.

"Ethan!"

He snapped back into reality, and quickly looked across to her.

"You can't wait for Benny all day. Maybe he's ill today. Again."

He stared blankly at her, confused.

"Ethan? _School_. Now!"

He blinked, and then stuffed the rest of his toast into his mouth, before getting up, grabbing his bag and moodily going out of the door, slamming it shut in an angry gesture.

"I wonder what's got into him this week," his dad said to his mum.

"Oh, it's probably something to do with his crush on that girl Sarah."

His dad smiled. "Yeah. Teenagers..."

Unbeknownst to Ethan, Benny had, in fact, been standing, hidden, on the other side of the road for the previous half an hour. He'd been in a frenzy of indecision and emotion. A large part of him hated Ethan now, but there was enough of the other part that still wanted to rush up to the door and go back to how things had been to have kept him, out of sight and watching the door. Eventually there came a time when Benny knew that he could no longer keep on standing there, and so decided to walk on to school. Just as he did so, however, a miserable looking Ethan came out of the house and slammed the door. He looked around himself with a sour expression, before shaking his head, scowling, and slouching off towards school. Benny followed, on the other side of the road, a short distance behind, and looking anywhere but at Ethan.

As he walked to school, Ethan became aware of someone close by. He tried to look behind him surreptitiously, but when he turned his head just far enough to see that it was Benny, his head snapped forwards and his eats went pink in a way that must have been noticeable.

A little behind Ethan, Benny had noticed. He'd been trying not to look at him, but now they both knew about each other, it just became more awkward. They were approaching school. Ethan would have to cross over, so they wouldn't necessarily meet.

Aware that Benny was close behind him on the other side of the road, Ethan tried to slow down so that when they reached the school gate, there wouldn't be the awkward moment when they bumped into each other. He didn't know that Benny was also slowing down to let him get there first and also miss the meeting.

Unluckily for them both, Ethan had no trouble crossing the road, and he and Benny both reached the school gate, from opposite directions, at the same time. The gate was too narrow for more than two to go through, and they didn't want to go through together. At the gate they stopped and stared at each other coolly, as if they had never met. Then, with a careless movement, Benny swung through the gate, his bag catching Ethan in the side as he also chose the same moment to go through. Winded, Ethan staggered to one side, but Benny kept on walking as if he hadn't noticed Ethan had ever existed.


	15. Wasteland - Part 2

**The Burial of the Dead**

Watching the uncomfortable moment between the pair were Sarah and Erica. "So, _that's_ the happy couple, is it?" Erica asked. Sarah had told her about Benny and Ethan's row. Erica had just found it funny.

"Yes. Not good, really. They're acting like they don't know each other."

Erica snorted. "They're acting like two little kids. It's a shame, though, as they were pretty cute together."

Sarah turned to her in amazement. "_Cute_?"

Erica just smiled infuriatingly. "Ah well, now it's every nerd for himself. No more banding together. Now who's going to laugh at their Star Trek jokes?"

"You?" replied Sarah, raising an eyebrow.

Erica looked away with a frown, and started to protest. "I don't know-"

Sarah shut her up with a wave of her hand. "I know you get them, and you find some of them funny."

Erica looked a little guilty. "Well, maybe one or two... Actually, there was this _really_ good one about –"

"Stop, Erica!" interrupted Sarah. "I've probably heard it from one of those two, and, as soon as you tell it, you'll be going around draining the blood of anyone who might have been in earshot. So don't even think about it."

Erica pouted, and then led Sarah into school. She frowned. "Actually, I am a little bit worried. The clothes I've been leaving the nerd these last few days have not been washed well..." She trailed off as she looked at Sarah's incredulous expression. "What?"

"We're talking about the break-up of Whitechapel's oldest friendship, and you're only worried about your clothes? And, while we're on it, you've been getting _Ethan_ to do your washing?"

Erica shrugged. "He's really quite good. You should get him to do yours. All it takes is a little... persuasion. And, hey, if there's bloodstains still on my clothes when they come back from the laundry, I've every right to be concerned!"

Sarah just shook her head. "There are too many arguments to have with you right now! We've got more important things to worry about at the moment."

Erica wrinkled her nose. "Fine," she sighed. She looked across at Sarah. "This is what I don't get. We have arguments all the time, but neither of us then has a week-long sulk and the threat of ending our whole friendship. Why can't the nerds just get over it?"

Sarah nodded. "I know it seems strange, but Ethan and Benny have never argued over anything before. I think this is their first major one, and the two of them have no idea how to deal with it."

"And so they massively overreact?"

Sarah shrugged. "Seems like it."

"Remind me again why it's our problem to hold their hands while they sort themselves out as adults?" asked Erica, resigned.

"So that when there's next a problem in Whitechapel, there isn't a hole in our defences," recited Sarah. Erica's eyes narrowed.

"There's more to it than that, though, I'm sure."

Sarah looked across at her friend, now a little less confident. "I'm worried that one of them, and particularly Benny, since he's the magician, will do something stupid and dangerous."

Erica nodded. "Well, for me, there's still an upside. With them separated, Rory spends more time with them individually - which means less time with me. But, if you're really worried, I'll help you with these two. But only because I'm your friend, and not because I am in any way concerned about those two nerds. I want to make that perfectly clear right now."

Sarah smiled and nodded. "Good. Let's go in."

Inside, the pair of them were greeted with a sad sight. Ethan and Benny were both at their lockers, which were, of course, next to each other. The pair of them had their backs to each other, studiously ignoring the other. Even as they closed and locked the doors, the two boys didn't look across once, and headed off in opposite directions, despite the fact that, as Sarah knew, they had the same class. Erica raised an eyebrow and looked at Sarah. "That was awkward. They really are acting weird."

"Yeah. And to think that they sit next to each other in just about every class."

"Quite tense," remarked Erica.

Sarah nodded. "That's what I'm worried about. We need to talk to them, before something happens. I'll speak to Ethan, and you talk to Benny."

Erica scowled. "Must I? He goes all strange whenever he's near me. Stranger than usual. And I can't be seen talking to the nerdiest of little nerds."

Sarah sighed. "Fine. Is Ethan less weird? Could you talk to him instead?"

"I guess he's not so bad. He is, at least, less annoying than the other one. He's not quite as obviously weird."

Sarah nodded, exasperated. "Well, you talk to him, and I'll do Benny at some point today. We've got to fix this fast, now that it looks like they can't do it themselves."

* * *

It was at the end of lunch break when Erica at last managed to speak to Ethan. All lunch she had sat patiently watching him and his friend. Well, that wasn't entirely true, as she had mostly been window shopping for potential prey, but she had kept an eye on them. They were strange. Now they were sitting at either end of the lunch hall, sullenly eating their lunches on their own. Neither of them seemed to have any other friends. Rory, of course, was there, but he spent the whole time zooming between them, trying not to show favouritism. Sarah had dithered for a while, but eventually left without talking to either. Vaguely amused, Erica watched it all calmly, but knew that she had to do it now, or it would get tedious. Ethan got up and went out to get his books for afternoon classes. Whenever possible, he avoided Benny at their lockers, and made his way to class early to try and get a different seat. On the way, though, as he was passing a different classroom, a hand shot out of the door, gripped his arm, and hauled him inside. Before he had a chance to cry out, he found himself face to face with Erica. "Hi..." he said, nervous. He smiled weakly. "You know Sarah wouldn't want you to eat me..."

Erica pushed him roughly against the wall of the deserted classroom. "Shut up. Now, _I'm_ going to talk, _you're_ going to listen, and then we're going to continue on as before. OK?" She didn't wait for answer. "Good."

Ethan's eyes bulged with the surprise of seeing her, and the force with which he was pinned to the wall. "Could... Could you let me down, please?" he said, partly strangled. His feet were dangling a few inches above the floor. Erica suddenly let him go, and he dropped down. He looked nervously up at her. "What was it you wanted to say?"

"Right, squirt, to put it simply, you and your boyfriend need to get over this spat." Ethan opened his mouth to query 'boyfriend', but Erica glared at him, and he closed it again. "It's driving Sarah nuts with worry, and if she's unhappy, _I'm_ unhappy. And you don't want that. What's more, your standard of washing has really gone downhill since this, and you'll be in trouble if it continues. Now, either you two act like grown-ups and talk about your problem with each other, or you can continue to behave like kids, in which case..." Erica bared her fangs "...you can remain like it _forever_."

Ethan gulped. "Well, er, it's not wholly down to me, I mean-"

"Talk to him, give him what he wants, _marry_ him for all I care, just fix it and fix it fast! Got that?"

Ethan nodded. "I'll do my best."

Erica looked at her watch. "You'd better. Now, when I leave, wait ten minutes and then you leave. I don't want anyone to know that we met." With that, Erica swept back into the corridor.

* * *

Meanwhile, Sarah had cornered Benny at his locker. "Oh, hey, Sarah," he said as she walked up behind him. He turned and gave her a broad grin, though Sarah was sure that it seemed more strained than normal. "What's up?" he asked, brightly.

"Well, er..." Sarah faltered. Benny laughed.

"If you want to ask me out, there's no need to be nervous!"

She rolled her eyes at him, which only made him smile a little wider, before resolving to finish what she had started. "Benny, I want to talk to you about Ethan."

At that, his face fell, and all his previous cheeriness disappeared. "What about him?" he asked, darkly. His whole face, previously quite round, seemed to lengthen and become rather sharp as his expression changed.

"Don't you think that it's time the two of you talked about this?"

"What is there to say? He betrayed my trust. I don't want to speak to him."

"Benny, he's your best friend!" cried Sarah.

"_Was_," said Benny coldly, turning back to his locker. After a moment, he spun back around, suspicion etched into his face. "Has _he_ put you up to this? He doesn't even want to face me?"

"No, this is all me. Ethan doesn't even know about it."

Benny scowled. "So now you're trying a rescue mission? Well, I've had enough of people trying to organise things for me." He slammed his locker door shut. "Was there anything else? Or is _he_ all you want to talk about?"

"Benny!" said Sarah, exasperated. "Ethan's clearly really upset by this, and so are you. Ethan just-"

Benny rounded on her, angrier than she'd ever seen him. "Don't you talk to me about him!" he roared, drawing some strange looks from passing students. "He just takes me for granted! He just assumes I'll go along with whatever he does. But whenever you're around, does _he_ ever listen to _me_? Does he even see the pair of us as friends without you there all the time?"

Sarah had tried to interrupt him several times, but the unaccustomed force of Benny's anger knocked her back. "Benny - calm down!" His hair was starting to crackle with magic built up by his emotions. She was afraid that he might accidentally hurt people around them. "I'm sorry, Benny, I didn't know!"

He blinked and then looked straight at her. "It's not your fault, Sarah. It's _him_, always him!" He paused, and his eyes filled with tears. "I just wish Ethan didn't exist!"

At that, he fell forwards, sobbing. Sarah caught him, and waited while he calmed down. Neither of them noticed the purple spark that had leapt from Benny's fingers as he had said the last words.

Neither did Benny notice, when he had dried his eyes, washed his face, and embarrassedly arrived late for Chemistry, that Ethan was nowhere to be seen in the lesson.


	16. Wasteland - Part 3

**I will show you fear**

After school, Erica and Sarah walked home together. "Did you speak to Ethan?" asked Sarah.

"Yeah," replied Erica, "I think he got the message." She grinned at Sarah. "How about you? Did you get your nerd to agree to kiss and make up?"

Sarah frowned. "I'm not sure what happened..."

Erica rolled her eyes. "You've got to dominate their tiny personalities, Sarah! They have to be afraid of you. I bet you just went for the shy, diffident, nicely-nicely approach?"

Sarah nodded.

"Did it work?"

"Well... Benny got really angry when I just mentioned Ethan, and then he just started to cry. He wouldn't say any more after that. I don't know what he's going to do."

Erica sighed. "Nerds. Too much thinking, not enough feeling. They have no idea what emotions are. I still say that you should have terrified him into submission."

"I don't think that's the right way to treat people!"

Erica shrugged. "You're a terrible vampire. By the way, are you coming to the Council tonight?"

Sarah shook her head. "It's Friday. I've got babysitting to do."

Erica shook her head derisively. "Well, good luck spending an evening with misery guts, then." Just then, Erica spotted someone on the other side of the road. "Mmm. Nice shoes. I'll see you around, Sarah!" Sarah snorted to herself as she watched Erica hurry after her latest quarry.

"Don't drink too much!" she called, but Erica was already far away. Sarah sighed and continued on for home. She was still worried about Ethan and Benny.

* * *

That evening, Sarah headed round to Ethan's house, as normal. It was quiet as she walked up the steps. Her heart sank, as she'd been half hoping that Ethan and Benny would have sorted out their differences, and would be back to their usual Friday night routine. She looked up at Ethan's window. It was dark, without even the faint flicker of light from a screen. She rapped on the door.

"Hi, Sarah!" said Mrs Morgan as she opened the door. "Come in. Jane's upstairs in her room."

"Hello, Mrs Morgan." Sarah was about to ask after Ethan, but was suddenly struck by his mother's appearance. "Er... Is that lederhosen? And should it be men that wear it?"

"Well, yes, that's right, but we are unfortunately rather short of male dancers, so my husband and I are making up the numbers."

Ethan's dad walked into the hall. The sight of him in complete traditional Austrian garb, complete with triangular cap, so struck Sarah that every other thought flew out of her mind as she tried not to laugh.

"Don't let Jane stay up too late," he said, "and there are some DVDs by the TV if you get bored."

Friday nights were rarely boring, thought Sarah, but she smiled and patted her bag. "I've got some homework to be getting on with."

They nodded, glanced at their watches, and headed for the car. "See you later, Sarah!"

As soon as they had left, Sarah burst into helpless giggles. Jane appeared on the stairs. "They do look stupid, don't they?" Sarah nodded, still smirking. Jane returned to her room.

Sarah wandered into the kitchen and looked about. No Ethan. That was odd. He was usually so keen to see her. She decided that he must be sulking upstairs in his room. She felt sorry for him, but couldn't help feeling that both he and Benny weren't dealing with this in a very mature way. He'd come down and see her eventually; he was too polite not to. As she spread out her homework - maths - she hoped that he would come down soon, and help her out. She made a face.

Eager to put off doing the work, she wondered if there was anything to eat. Her mind fixed on marshmallows. They were Ethan's favourite - there bound to be some in the house, and he wouldn't mind if she had a few. She opened the cupboard where they usually were. Nothing. It was empty. Sarah frowned. That was odd. There were always some in the kitchen on a Friday, without fail. Mrs Morgan always shopped on a Thursday, getting a fresh bag. This was an established fact of life.

Sarah rolled her eyes as she reached her conclusion. The meeting with Benny must have gone badly, and a miserable Ethan must now be commiserating with himself by comfort eating. She sighed. She wasn't going to let him eat himself into a sugar crash. Walking towards the stairs, she shook her head. She couldn't believe that it was Ethan that she was having to babysit. She called out to him.

"Ethan!"

No reply. She took a few steps and called again.

"Ethan?"

Nothing.

"Ethan! Stop moping and come down here!"

Sarah started to go further up the stairs, but was stopped by Jane coming out onto the landing. "He's not here."

Sarah raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Do you know where he might be?"

Jane just shrugged and went back to her room.

Sarah walked back down the stairs, deep in thought. She couldn't help a nagging suspicion that something wasn't right. Then her mood brightened. Perhaps he and Benny had made up after all, and he had gone round to Benny's house for a change. She had to make sure, though...

"Jane?" she shouted. "I'll be back in a minute."

With that, Sarah sped over to Benny's house.

* * *

Outside, she felt her spirits lift as she heard the sound of laughter coming from a window. It was Benny, and he sounded genuinely happy. Maybe Ethan was here after all. Hopeful, Sarah knocked on the door. To her surprise, Rory opened it.

"Hi Sarah!" He frowned. "Hey, isn't it Ethan that needs the babysitter?"

"Yeah, but I've just come round to check something. Is -"

Before Sarah could finish, Benny walked through. He blinked in surprise, but smiled warmly at her. "Have you been kicked out?" He motioned her through to the kitchen.

She smiled. "No, I'm just here for a really quick question." By now they were in the kitchen. She looked around. There was a half-eaten pizza, but no sign of Ethan.

"Shoot," said Benny.

"OK, er, is Ethan here?"

At that Benny scowled, and Sarah's heart sank. "No." His eyes narrowed. "Why do you ask?"

"He's not at home. I thought he might be here."

At this Rory frowned. "That's odd, because he invited me round for the usual Friday night. So did Benny, but I'm planning on using my vampire speed to go to both!" At this, he grinned, then realised that Benny didn't know about that, and looked slightly guilty.

Benny glowered at Rory, who shrugged. "Double pizza, come on, how could I turn that opportunity down?"

By now Sarah was getting pretty worried. "So he's not here, but he said he would be at home - which he isn't - so where is he?"

She turned to Benny pleadingly. "Where might he have gone?"

He shrugged indifferently. "I don't know. I don't care."

"Oh, come on, Benny! You're his best friend-"

"As I've said before - '_was_'. I don't know where he might be. Now, if you've got nothing else to say, I think you'd better get back to looking after Jane, and stop worrying about where Ethan might have got to."

Surprised at the unusually curt dismissal, Sarah backed out into the hallway. As she turned to go, she thought of something, and spun back around to face Benny.

"Have you seen Ethan this afternoon?"

He shook his head. "Not since lunch, I think." A shadow passed across his face, before he added, abruptly, almost as if he felt he had to: "And a good thing, too."

Rory nodded in agreement.

Too overcome by a horrifying realisation to analyse Benny's reaction, Sarah turned on her heel and all but flew to Ethan's.


	17. Wasteland - Part 4

**A handful of dust**

Sarah wrenched open the front door and sprinted up the stairs, all the while shouting Ethan's name. She threw open his bedroom door and froze in shock. It was completely empty. Sarah checked hurriedly in the other rooms. No sign of Ethan's stuff. Feeling sick, Sarah rushed back downstairs, past an astonished looking Jane. Scanning the family photos on the wall and window ledges, Sarah discovered, with mounting horror, that none of them contained Ethan. After a quick look around the kitchen - full of Jane's belongings, but none of Ethan's - Sarah returned, shaking, to the hallway. The front door was still lying open. Leaning heavily against it, she pushed it shut, and then slid down it to the floor, staring blankly ahead of her. Ethan was gone. It was like he'd never existed.

"Are you OK, Sarah?" asked Jane. Sarah didn't hear her, as her mind was already whirring elsewhere. It had to have been Benny who'd done this. When he'd wished that Ethan didn't exist, it had come true!

Startled, Sarah sprang up and yanked open the door, before speeding off towards Benny's house. A bemused Jane shrugged, and then shut the door behind her erstwhile babysitter.

Sarah didn't make it halfway down the road before she cannoned into someone running in the other direction. Smashing into each other, both of them were knocked to the ground. Sarah looked over to see who it was. "Sorry..." she groaned, rubbing her head. She picked herself up. Also getting to his feet was Benny, his eyes wild and frantic. Forcing himself to his feet, he was about to run on, apparently not even noticing Sarah, but she grabbed him by the arm and spun him around to face her. Recognising her at last, he blurted out a question.

"Where is he?"

Sarah shook her head. "Benny - it's like he's never existed."

He went very pale, and sank onto the roadside. He buried his head in his hands. After a moment, he looked up at her with streaming eyes. "I did this, didn't I?"

Sarah nodded, not knowing how to respond less bluntly. "When you wished he didn't exist - he didn't."

At this Benny started to sob. "I - I didn't mean it! I know I was - I was angry, but I was going to talk to him. But now - do you think he's gone forever? Have I destroyed my best friend? Ethan?"

That was the first time Benny had said the name in the last week, and saying it brought back a fresh wave of guilt so strong that it almost made him wretch. He started to shake uncontrollably, and clung on to a nearby street light as if it were a life raft.

"Ethan, Ethan, Ethan!" he moaned, pressing his head against the lamppost. "Come back!" he suddenly yelled, staring straight up at the night sky. He looked around him, as if expecting Ethan to be walking down the street. He started to cry with renewed vigour.

Sarah dropped to the ground next to him, and put her arm around his shoulders. She was upset, too, but her worry overpowered every other emotion. She squeezed Benny reassuringly. "It'll be OK," she whispered, more to herself than to anyone else. "We'll get him back, I'm sure."

"How?" wailed Benny. "I don't even know what I did!"

"Your grandma will know what to do," Sarah said, though with very little hope. Ethan seemed to have been firmly erased from history.

"Yeah," said Benny, brightening a little. "Do you really think we can undo this?" he asked, desperately. He turned his head towards her.

She looked into the pathetic, grief stricken face, messy with tears and snot, and red and puffy from crying. Staring straight into his bloodshot eyes, Sarah smiled as convincingly as she could.

"Yes. Definitely. She always knows what to do."

Benny smiled weakly in return. "Yeah. I guess so..."

With that, he sniffed loudly, and sprang to his feet, wiping his eyes and face as he did so. "No good us sitting here. Come on!"

Sarah got up too, and he was about to rush off home, when Sarah called him back. She held out a tissue. "No need to frighten the children with that mask!"

It wasn't funny, but both of them burst out laughing. Benny wiped his face again, which did little good as he was still crying, and, a little more hopefully, headed for home.

* * *

Benny's calm didn't last long, as by the time they reached his front door, he was already desperate to get in and speak to his grandmother. He ran up the stairs.

"Grandma! Grandma! I need you!"

He knocked frantically on her door. Sarah followed him and stood at his shoulder.

He pounded again.

"All right, I'm coming!" was the reply.

As she opened the door, she started to ask what the problem was. "What have you done now, Benny? Have you and Rory broken anythi-"

Seeing her grandson's face, she broke off her light-hearted mock-seriousness. From his distraught expression, she could see that something was seriously wrong.

He fell forwards and put his arms around her, returning to the sobbing incoherence of when he had run into Sarah. She held him tightly, trying to comfort him, all the while looking at Sarah concernedly. Sarah mouthed "Ethan", and Benny grandmother nodded knowingly. She manoeuvred her grandson onto her bed, and, taking a handkerchief from her pocket, cleaned his face. "There, there," she murmured to him. Eventually, Benny had calmed down again.

"What's the problem, dear?" she asked.

In halting sentences, Benny tearfully explained all that had happened: the knight, the argument, the week of sullen avoidance of each other, and finally his conversation with Sarah.

"... and then I said that I wished he didn't exist. I didn't know that I'd used magic. I was just so angry and upset with him." He gulped and looked up at his grandma, who had been growing paler as he had told his story, something that Sarah was watching with growing anxiousness. "Can you fix it?"

Benny's grandma pursed her lips. She looked worried. "I don't know, Benny."

At this, his lower lip quivered, and he seemed about to dissolve into tears again.

"The kind of magic you did, Benny, is very powerful indeed. It's wired in to your emotions, and, when you're under great strain, you can do things that most people who use magic couldn't normally do. What you did isn't in any spell book; there's no standard antidote. I might be able to save Ethan, but most of it is going to have to depend on you."

He stared up at her. "I'll do _anything_ for him! What is it that you need me to do?"

"You have to remember him, Benny." She turned to look at Sarah, and Rory, who, forgotten for so long, had followed the sound of crying, and was now looking into the room with a worried look. "You two have to do it, too."

They looked at her, perplexed.

"Ethan may have vanished physically, but he still exists in our memories - at least, the memories of those of us with an element of the supernatural, as we are resistant to changes in reality. That's why you remember him, but his parents don't. Now, if you three, who knew him best, focus on him in your minds, then, perhaps, I can drag him back into the real world."

The three of them nodded.

"It would help if you each had something that you associated strongly with Ethan. If there is, then you should get it, and we should go to Ethan's room. It should be easier to form a link there."


	18. Wasteland - Part 5

**Lilacs out of the dead land**

Each of the three of them thought for a moment, and then immediately rushed off. Within minutes, Sarah and Rory were back in Benny's hallway with their items, waiting for Benny.

"He probably can't decide," commented his grandmother, fondly. "What did you two bring?"

Rory pulled what looked like a watch out from his pocket.

"Ethan gave me this for my birthday, just after I became a vampire."

He showed it to them. It was a watch, but with an extra dial.

"It's an altimeter, to tell me how high up I am!" Rory beamed widely. "It was the only present I got to do with my being a vampire..."

Benny's grandma smiled at him. "That was really sweet of Ethan."

Sarah reached into her jacket and showed them a small card. "Ethan gave me this after I first babysat for him." Looking at it, she smiled. "He wrote to me to ask me never to tell anyone what I did on a Friday night - and that he needed a babysitter. To be honest, I don't think most people would believe me!"

They all smiled knowingly at that. Benny's grandma frowned. "Where is Benny? We've got to get going."

Sarah concentrated her hearing towards Benny's room. By now the sound she heard was quite familiar. He was crying. Again. "I'll go and fetch him."

Sarah made her way up the stairs to his room. Knocking on the door, she went in, finding him cross-legged on the floor with a large book on his lap, tears occasionally running down his nose and onto the pages. He made no attempt to move as she came to stand over him.

"Hey, Benny, we'd better get going."

He looked up from what he was looking through. It was a photo album.

"I thought everything was on computer now?" she asked him, trying to make conversation.

He sniffed. "Yeah, but some of these are _really_ old, so I print new ones off for completeness."

Looking over his shoulder at the pictures, Sarah saw that they were all of him and Ethan - or rather, him, with a space where Ethan had once been. Some of them were just blank, which must have been ones just of Ethan. Benny was on the last page, where the photo, taken just the previous week, showed Benny leaning on one side of a large snowman. On the other, was an Ethan-sized gap.

"That was the day it snowed weirdly," explained Benny in a stifled voice. "I've got just about every photo of Ethan and me ever taken in this book. And now - now he's not there!"

He seemed about to break into incoherent wailing again, but Sarah firmly stopped him. "Come on, Benny. We can save him now, and bring him back, if only you stop feeling sorry for yourself and go with us to Ethan's house."

Benny looked up at her with red eyes and grasped her hand tightly. "I know..."

Suddenly collecting himself, he flipped through the pages, before drawing out a photograph and placing it in his pocket. He did it so quickly that Sarah didn't see what it was, which seemed to be how Benny wanted it. He shut the album, pushed it under his bed, and got to his feet.

Drying his eyes, he turned to Sarah. "OK. I'm ready."

* * *

A few minutes later, the four of them were standing in Ethan's bare room. Seeing it had rather shocked Benny and Rory. At the direction of Benny's grandma, they sat down in a ring and closed their eyes.

"Now," she said, pacing around them, "think of Ethan." She started to mutter a long a complex spell, sending each of them into a strange dreamlike trance. The effort to rescue Ethan began.

* * *

Dark. Very dark. Ethan had just snapped awake, but, staring in front of him, he could see only blackness. He tried to feel his body, but realised that he couldn't move his hands. In fact, he wasn't even aware that he had hands. Terror shot through his mind. Was he paralysed and blind?

He went to call out, but couldn't. Like his hands, his mouth felt like it had vanished. This must be some kind of terrible dream, he thought. Maybe if he shut his eyes, it would all be over. He tried but was, again, unable to even register the existence of his eyelids. It was as if nothing existed of him but his mind. Ethan wondered if he was trapped inside his body. Had he been in some kind of accident? The last thing he remembered was leaving the classroom after talking to Erica. He'd gone a few steps along the corridor, and then - nothing. What had happened? Where was he? Was this some kind of magic? He didn't know if it was even possible to answer those questions in this, apparently bodiless form, blocked from interacting with anyone else. Was his only option to wait and hope that his life support (or whatever kept his mind working) wasn't turned off?

His mind raced.

Then a thought hit him. His gift, his power as a Seer came from his mind only. Yes, he had to touch things, but the visions were all in his head. What if he could try and reverse that? Make a vision and then try and touch the real world? Maybe he could even contact his friends through it. Ethan tried to think how this might work. He thought of Rory, Sarah, and Benny. He pictured each of them in turn, before trying to turn his mind outwards. Perhaps he could detect other minds from this state. For a while, it seemed hopeless. Then, just faintly, he got the impression of something like a tiny star, right at the edge of the blackness. It seemed to be changing rapidly in colour, through all the shades of light. He concentrated on it, and it drew nearer. Ethan felt it come closer to him, until it seemed only a tiny distance away. It lit is mind with iridescent flashes of blue, green, red and yellow. He wondered what would happen if he were to will it to envelop him. It swung towards him and appeared to open up around him.

Ethan got the impression of waves of rainbows surrounding him, and then everything in his strange mental darkness shifted.

* * *

Back in Ethan's room, Rory twitched, and clutched unconsciously at his watch.


	19. Wasteland - Part 6

**In our empty rooms**

Ethan was struck by the variety and brilliance of the colours swirling around him as he woke up - though he didn't remember falling asleep. The vibrant shades moved constantly above him in every clashing and luminous colour imaginable. To his relief, he found that he could look about him, and to his delight found that he had a body again. Like his surroundings, it was pulsing with weird lights and colours, but, as he examined his hand and arm, it was a body, and, at the moment, that was a definite improvement. He got to his feet and gazed about the strange, fantastical landscape. He couldn't escape the feeling that this was somewhere that he should recognise. Looking down, he frowned as he realised that the ground he was standing on resembled a giant wristwatch. That was certainly odd, Ethan thought. Looking up, a giant psychedelic cloud passed by. It looked vaguely familiar. He strained to make out the shape, and as it turned slightly, he realised what it was - a gigantic version of Erica's face. He laughed. He knew who's mind he was in.

Ethan turned around. "Rory?" he called. Immediately, a shimmering version of his friend appeared, looking confused.

"Wow..." he breathed, looking around. "The inside of my head is_ cool_!" He caught sight of Ethan, and his face lit up with joy. He ran towards him.

"Ethan! You're back!"

Both of them shuddered as Rory ran right through Ethan.

"I don't think either of us quite exist, Rory. We're just images in your mind."

"Oh. But this must be a good start, though?"

Ethan nodded. "I guess. What happened to me? Why am I here?"

Rory looked a little sheepish. "I, er, don't actually know... I sort of missed the explanation, as Benny, Sarah and Benny's grandma discussed it while I wasn't there. I came along when Benny's grandma was telling us what to do, and, well, if you need saving from something, I'm always on hand!"

At this last part, Rory grinned really widely at Ethan, who felt a sudden wave of affection and gratitude towards his friend. Even without knowing what the problem was, Rory had volunteered to help fix it. Ethan smiled back.

"What is it that you are doing to save me?"

"We've all got something to remember you by-"

"Hence this?" put in Ethan, gesturing to the watch.

"Yeah- and then we went to your room - which is totally empty, by the way - and Benny's grandma has put us into some king of trance."

"So we can talk like this, I suppose," said Ethan.

Rory nodded. "You'd probably better try moving on and finding someone else, who might be able to help you a little more than I can."

"OK, then." A door appeared amid the swirls of colour. "I'll go through there, then..."

Rory shrugged. "I guess so."

At the door, Ethan turned to look back at his friend, who was dreamily admiring the strangeness of his mind. "Thanks, Rory - for everything."

Rory didn't seem to hear, but, Ethan reasoned, it was all inside Rory's head, so he would know of his gratitude. He walked through the door, which vanished behind him.

* * *

Out in the real world, Rory smiled and relaxed, his eyes still closed. Meanwhile, the edges of Ethan's room began to flash with multi-coloured lights, as well as the occasional appearance of an outline of a person in the middle of the circle. At the same time, Sarah grimaced, and involuntarily placed a hand on the pocket with the note in.

* * *

On leaving Rory's mind, Ethan was at once soothed by the stillness of the next, as he was startled by its colour. It was bright pink. Looking around, he noticed that the sky was covered with huge letter, which, after some squinting, he recognised as his own. This writing, combined with the lurid pink everywhere, gave Ethan the impression of being in a sickening saccharine Valentine's Day card. Of course, for Ethan, this was just what he imagined, as he'd never sent or received one. There was still time, though, he mused - but if he was to get one like this, he'd probably decline. Looking around, he half expected to be assailed by giant hearts, but instead he only saw the quiet form of Sarah standing a little way off. She at least had the decency to be embarrassed at the representation of her mind.

"Er, hi, Ethan." She bit her lip and glanced at the wash of pink surrounding them. "Um... This is a bit weird."

Ethan smiled, trying to break the awkwardness. "Well, you haven't been inside Rory's head! I don't recommend it. You'll give yourself a migraine..."

Sarah smiled faintly. "I'll keep that in mind."

Focusing, she stared straight at him. "It's good to see you again, Ethan. She stretched out her hand. "I don't suppose I can...?"

Ethan shook his head as her hand reached his shoulder. "I don't think so."

It passed through him, but it felt different to how it had been with Rory. There was more resistance now, as if they were both made of jelly. "Maybe you're becoming more real..." said Sarah, hopefully.

"I don't quite understand what's happened to me. Rory didn't know, except that you all have to remember me. I get that I'm just a disembodied mind going around in your memories, but why?"

Sarah looked down.

"This is, at least partly, my fault. I interfered between you and Benny -"

"You sent Erica?" asked Ethan.

"- Yes. Sorry."

Ethan shook his head. "You were right. I was being stupid in avoiding him."

"Well, anyway, I tried to raise the subject with Benny, and I think I may have pushed it too far. He got caught up in his emotions, and wished that you didn't exist. He didn't know that that was going to be implemented by his magic."

Ethan paled. "Benny removed me from history?"

Sarah nodded sadly. "He didn't mean to. He was - still is - distraught about it when he realised. He hasn't stopped crying since."

Ethan took a deep breath. "So how do you plan to save me?"

"Benny's grandma is doing some magic now that should restore you, but only if the memory of you is strong enough. You're here in my mind, which is good, but you've still got some way to go."

Ethan nodded, his eyes blank and staring at nothing. Then, slowly, he looked at Sarah. "Benny?"

She knew what he meant. "I don't know, Ethan. He's got a lot of confused emotions about you, but above all he's worried about you, and terribly guilty. I know that he misses you unbearably. But you're going to have to talk to him, Ethan. You have to fix this yourself."

Ethan nodded solemnly. His eyes alighted on something behind her. It was a large, dark pink door, as he'd feared, in the shape of a heart.

She turned to look at it, and then looked away, mortified. Rolling his eyes, Ethan took a few steps towards it, before hesitating with his hand on the handle. Looking back towards her, he stared at her in fear.

"Go on, Ethan," said Sarah, reassuringly. "Good luck!" They exchanged a nervous smile, and Ethan disappeared through the doorway.

* * *

Back in Ethan's room, Sarah sighed and her hand dropped away from the note. As she did so, Benny tensed and gripped the photograph in his pocket. In the middle of the three of them, the outline of Ethan began to glow with a faint pink light, and what had once been outlines now seemed more substantial. Seeing this, Benny grandma looked at her grandson. It all depended on him now.


	20. Wasteland - Part 7

**What the Thunder Said**

Ethan blinked in the light. It was totally white, brilliant and almost blinding in its purity. Unlike the nebulous billows of Rory's mind, or the nauseating plush of Sarah's, this was regular, hard and straight. The huge, sharply defined white box that Ethan stood in was totally empty, apart from him, and - he took a sharp intake of breath - Benny, who was standing a little way off. Their eyes met, and they stood still, staring fixedly at each other in the silence. Then, simultaneously, they started to walk towards each other. This rapidly developed into a run, with the two of them letting out a wild yell of frustration, grief and joy all mixed up together. Expecting to run through each other, they were both startled when they slammed into each other and bounced off onto the ground.

Hopeful for what this might mean, Ethan picked himself up, and nervously approached Benny, who also was getting gingerly to his feet.

The two boys stood face to face, all violent emotions spent. "Er..." said Ethan, his eyes flicking up to make contact with Benny, and then dropping down again. "B - Benny..."

His friend opened his mouth as if to say something, but Ethan held up his hand. His voice was a little stronger this time.

"Benny, I have to say this. I - I'm sorry. I was wrong to go behind your back and called Sarah. I shouldn't take you for granted. I shouldn't have sulked like that all week. I -"

This time, it was Benny turn to cut him off. "That's enough, Ethan."

He stood in silence in front of Ethan, simply gazing into his friend's eyes. Ethan waited. This was clearly very important to Benny, and he wasn't going to interrupt. At this point, Ethan was entirely lost as to the state of their friendship, and decided that it would be best if Benny made the next move.

Eventually, Benny spoke. "Ethan, I don't want you to be sorry for calling Sarah. What you did saved our lives, and it was the right thing to do. You didn't betray me or ignore me – you did what you thought was best, and, as it turned out, it was. I overreacted, and I was wrong to be so angry with you. I don't know what came over me, but once it had started, I couldn't calm myself down. Inside, I took every little thing that ever caused a little disagreement between us, and twisted them and magnified them until that was all that I could see of our friendship. It wasn't true, and I was carried away with it – to this."

Benny indicated at their surroundings with a wave of his hand, which then dropped limply to his side. He seemed to collapse in on himself, losing all the pride and buoyancy of his normal self. His eyes welled with tears.

"I destroyed you, Ethan. You were – _are –_ my best friend. How could I do that to you, based on nothing but my own twisted emotions?"

He fell to his knees in front of his friend and bent his head.

"I'm sorry, Ethan! I'm sorry, I'm sorry! It's not a strong enough word for all that I want it to mean, but it's the only one I can use. I couldn't live without you, Ethan!"

At this, Benny suddenly flung himself at a very startled Ethan's feet.

"Please, Ethan, can you forgive me?"

Ethan looked down at his friend, prostrate at his feet. Benny wanted his forgiveness – he wanted absolution from Ethan. Ethan opened his mouth to give it.

Then he hesitated. He frowned. This wasn't how it should be. Benny shouldn't be pleading at his feet. That wasn't how friendship worked. Ethan got down on the floor as well; facing him, and lying full length, he let his chin rest on his hands, just inches from Benny's bent head.

"Hey," he said, in a soft voice. Benny looked up, his cheeks wet with tears. They were so close that their noses were almost touching.

Ethan smiled at him. "You don't have to ask me to forgive you. You're here trying to save me, aren't you? I was angry and upset, but I was childish, too. The number of times I wished that you didn't exist over the last week? If it had been me with magic, we'd have been in this situation days ago. You're just lucky."

That raised a wan smile from Benny. Ethan continued speaking in the same hushed voice.

"I know you don't feel it anymore, but I _was_ wrong not to tell you that I'd call Sarah. And there have been loads of times when I've just taken you granted, Benny. It's easy to do it – you're always there for me. I can't promise you that I'll never do it again, but I _can_ say that I will try. Will you let me, Benny?"

Wiping his red eyes, Benny nodded silently.

"And, Benny, whatever happens between us and Sarah, or…" (here Ethan grinned) "…even Erica or Rory, _you_ are still my best friend, and I hope that I'll always be yours. I think that from now on, if we've got a problem, we talk about it, and we never let it get to this again. Agreed?"

Benny nodded vigorously. "Definitely," he said, in a slightly choked voice. He beamed at Ethan, his old cheeriness restored, and they both got to their feet.

"Friends?" asked Benny, holding out his hand.

"Friends," Ethan said decisively, slapping it. They smiled at each other, and now it was Ethan's turn to cry.

Benny grinned. "Only girls cry, Ethan."

His friend opened his mouth to retort angrily, but, seeing Benny's tear stained face, only burst out laughing instead, which, in turn, set Benny off into hysterics.

After the laughing fit had subsided, Ethan straightened and looked around him. "So, now we have to get me back to my body. How do you think I get out?"

Almost as he said it, a glowing doorway appeared beside them.

"I guess this is it, then," said Benny. "See you in the real world."

Ethan stepped towards it, and then turned back, looking thoughtful. "Hey, everyone else had something to remember me by. What's yours?"

Benny looked around him at the empty room. "Oh, just a photograph of you and me," he said, dismissively. "Come on, you'd better get going…"

Ethan glanced around, frowning, and then shrugged and stepped through the arch.

* * *

Dark. Very Dark. As Sarah returned from her trance, she still had her eyes closed. Had it worked? That thought raced through her mind as she unthinkingly sank back, drained by the experience of being inside her own mind. She could hear nothing. Dread filled her. Maybe they'd failed, and Ethan was lost forever!

Then her head hit something solid. She frowned. That was odd; the room was totally empty… The realisation came to her, and she at last flicked her eyes open, beaming with joy. She had banged her head on Ethan's bed – so Ethan must be back too! She looked up.

There he was, smiling down at her. "Hi, Sarah," he said, grinning widely. "I'm back!" He extended a hand and helped her to her feet. He looked a little embarrassed. "Thanks … for saving me, and, well, for believing that I was capable of being more than an idiot." He blushed. "It seems like I do need a babysitter after all."

Sarah smiled. "Yeah, maybe you and Benny both."

"What about me?" came a cry.

Sarah turned and looked in the direction it had come from. "Well, actually, Rory, in this case you have come out as the most sensible and mature."

At this Rory swelled with pride. "Can you tell Erica that? Please?"

"If you like," Sarah laughed.

"No, it's OK, I'll go myself," said Rory, heading for the door. As he reached it, he stopped, remembering the reason he was there. "Oh, hi, Ethan! Can I be excused to go and talk to Erica now?"

Ethan waved a hand in his direction. "Off you go, Rory." He rolled his eyes at Sarah as his friend rushed away down the stairs. Then he frowned and turned around, to see Benny, still unconscious, being looked at by his grandma. Ethan paled.

"Is he going to be alright?" he asked, a note of panic creeping into his voice.

Benny grandmother stood up, and smiled tiredly at Ethan. "He'll be just fine. It always takes a while to get Benny up, you know that!" At that, she, too, turned to leave, but not before looking Ethan straight in the eye. "Now, you two boys try to settle your differences normally from now on – I don't have the strength to keep making new timelines for you!"

Ethan looked sheepish. "Yeah, sorry about that…"

"Don't worry, I'll be having words with Benny about it when he comes home. Take care of yourself, and him, Ethan." With that, she smiled and nodded at Ethan and Sarah, before walking after Rory.

As soon as she had left, Benny opened one eye. "Has she gone? I don't like the sound of 'I'll be having words'." Looking straight up at Ethan, he hesitated. "Hey…"

"Hey."

The awkward silence filled the room, and Sarah looked on, a twinge of worry in her stomach. Had the two mended their friendship?

Ethan broke the silence. "Want to play _Ninja Zombies III_? You can stay over, too, and put off those 'words'." Benny's face lit up, and he sprang to his feet.

The two of them were rapidly in conversation about their game, and Sarah made a tactful retreat down to the kitchen and to her much neglected homework, checking on Jane as she did. The two of them were going to be just fine. Worse than ever, probably.

* * *

A little over an hour later, Ethan reached into the bag of marshmallows. It was empty. He looked across at the person sharing it. Benny was still staring at the screen. Noticing that Ethan had stopped playing, he glanced at him. They was a lull as they just enjoyed being friends again. Then Benny turned to face Ethan, a serious expression on his face.

"Er, Ethan, do you remember what we said earlier…?"

His friend smiled. "About what?"

"About there being nothing that could happen with Sarah or Erica that could split us up…"

Ethan frowned. "Yeah… Why? Is there something I should know about?"

Benny looked embarrassed. "Well, there's something I need to tell you…" He trailed off, looked down and blushed.

Ethan waited.

"I – I'm going to ask Rory out."

Ethan stared at Benny, stunned. He opened his mouth to say something, and then he saw the gleam in his friend's eye, and was immediately suspicious. "_Hang_ on…"

Benny couldn't keep a straight face, and burst out laughing. "I nearly had you there. Your _face_, Ethan! It was hilarious!"

Ethan couldn't help laughing just as hard. When he recovered himself, he leaned towards his friend, and put a hand on his shoulder, as if to comfort him. "I'm warning you, as a friend, Benny – I don't think he'd have you."

At this, Benny feigned surprise. "Really? Is there someone else he's interested in?"

They laughed again, completely unrestrained. Eventually the pair of them finished laughing, both of them gasping for breath. As they prepared to go back to their game, Ethan looked thoughtful.

"Benny?"

"Mmm?" was the distracted reply.

"What was that photo of? I don't remember us ever going to a place like that."

Benny glanced across at him and smiled. Reaching into his pocket, he took out the photograph and showed it to Ethan.

It was blank. Ethan frowned in confusion. "But –"

In a swift movement, Benny placed the blank paper into Ethan's printer, drew his best friend closer to him, and held up Ethan's camera.

"It was this one," said Benny, a grin plastered across his face. "Smile!"

* * *

**So, all is mended, and that's more than enough sentimentalising for now. **

**Normal service of mindlessly bashing monsters shall now resume.**


	21. Episode 4 - Eight Legged Geeks - Part 1

**Episode 4. As ever, reviews keenly sought.**

* * *

Eight Legged Geeks

* * *

**A thin premeditated rig**

Another day at school, thought Sarah as she passed through the school gates once more. It was strange, knowing that she was a potentially immortal vampire, who was aware of and protected Whitechapel from the supernatural on a weekly basis, that she still had to go to school, do homework, and, on occasion, even get detention. In many ways, it was a welcome relief. For just a few hours a day, she could be like a normal girl, and forget all about her messed up life. In fact, as she looked around at her classmates, she was probably one of the few people who enjoyed school, with its regularity and routine. That's not to say that she wasn't looking forward to the long summer holiday starting the next week, she mused, surprised at catching herself in such a school-loving mood. She could do without it for a little while. She doubted that she'd get a holiday from the supernatural, though. And she would _always_ be a vampire.

Sighing, she walked into the main corridor and over to her locker. Slightly further down, she could she Ethan's legs, the top half of him being obscured by the door of his locker.

"Hi Ethan," she said.

No reply. She put her bag into her locker and rapped on his open door. "Ethan?"

Startled, he jumped back, and peered round the metal door at her. "Oh, hi, Sarah," he said. "I didn't hear you there." After he'd said it, he stifled a yawn.

She looked at him. There were dark rings under his eyes. "You look tired, Ethan."

He went a little sheepish, though it was hard to tell as it was mostly covered up by another yawn. He blushed. "Well, Benny's been coming over a lot this last week. We, er, rarely get to bed early."

Sarah raised an eyebrow. "Making up for a lost week, eh?" He smiled guiltily in reply.

"Well, don't make a habit of it. People will start to talk…" With that, she drifted away, laughing to herself, while Ethan just stared back into his locker dully, and yawning yet again. She passed Benny, who looked just as tired, and shook her head, all the while smiling to herself.

"Morning, Benny!" she said, brightly.

He blinked sleepily at her. "Is it…?" He rubbed his drooping eyes, and continued drowsily past her.

Sarah bounced on through the hallway, but came to a disgusted stop when she felt something stick to her face and hair. She rubbed a hand across her head. It came back with trails of cobwebs clinging to it. "Eurgh…" she groaned to herself, flicking as much of the web as she could off her. They really should clean the school more thoroughly, she thought. Maybe there was a little too much winding down before the end of term. Pushing the thought away with a flash of irritation, Sarah walked on to her next class.

* * *

Coming in and sitting next to Erica, she was surprised to get on odd look from her friend.

"Where have you been – sleeping in a coffin?" asked Erica. Her voice dropped to a whisper. "There's no need to take being a vampire _that _seriously."

Sarah frowned. "What's wrong with me?"

Moving her hand over Sarah's hair and clothes, Erica removed a large number of strands of web. She showed them to her. "Where did you get this messy?"

Sarah frowned. "I must have walked through a cobweb…"

"A pretty large one," commented Erica.

"Yeah…" said Sarah, thoughtfully. "I assumed that I'd got most of it out, but, you know, not being able to use a mirror and all…" She trailed off, looking slightly sad.

She was surprised to see Erica with a sympathetic expression on her face. "I know. It's one of the downsides of being a vampire. I'll never know just how fabulous I am." She sighed, and then grinned wickedly. "I suppose, for you, that might be some comfort."

"Hey!" cried Sarah, aggrieved, and punching her friend on the arm. Erica was about to retaliate, but their teacher chose that moment to enter the room.

"Girls!" he said, sternly. "I didn't expect that from you, Sarah." She looked embarrassed.

"Sorry, Mr Hilt." She twisted towards Erica, somewhat theatrically. "Sorry, Erica."

"Good," said their teacher, briskly. His eyes flicked up to Erica's hair. "Erica, why do you have a spider's web in your hair?" At that he headed to the front of the room and began talking about history.

Mortified, Erica picked out the web trying to hide her anger and embarrassment. She was fairly unsuccessful. Under her breath, she hissed:

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't see it, OK?" replied Sarah, shrugging. "Now, shush, as I want to pass this class!"

Erica just glared at her, but kept silent.

* * *

At lunch, Sarah headed back to her locker, meeting up with Ethan, Benny, and Rory.

"Hey guys."

"Hi, Sarah," they chorused, Ethan and Benny still somewhat drowsy. Rory, as ever, was bright and enthusiastic. It looked like Ethan was mildly annoyed at that, or would be, had he had the energy.

Rory glanced around. "Is it me, or has the school started decorating for Hallowe'en _really_ early this year?"

"What?" said Benny, a little irritably.

"All those spider webs. Spooky." Rory gestured to the cobwebs hanging down from the ceiling all around the hall.

"Yeah, Rory. Spooky. As if vampires, zombies and ghosts weren't enough, now we have spider webs just to make Whitechapel that little bit creepier," sighed Ethan.

Sarah frowned. "So you've noticed them too, Rory? Erica and I have been picking them off one another all day." She looked at him enquiringly. His eyes seemed to have glazed over.

"Rory!"

He blinked, and looked at her. "What was that you were saying? I lost you after 'Erica'…"

Sarah smiled thinly. "Yeah, I guessed you had. Cobwebs, Rory. There seem to be a lot of them around." She put special emphasis on her next words, looking pointedly at the three boys. "An _unusual_ number. Something that might make you _suspicious._"

"You don't think…" Ethan grimaced. "Oh, no, not _again_! I'm sure it's just normal, Sarah!"

"Nothing's ever normal here, Ethan." At that, he shrugged. It was true. He made a face.

"Yeah, but this could be an exception. But not tonight. _Please?_" He looked imploringly at her with big eyes.

Against her better judgement, Sarah caved in, though even as she did so she couldn't understand why she was doing it. "Fine. I'll leave it alone for now. But if it gets any worse…"

Ethan nodded. "Good."

"Why are you guys so reluctant to investigate, anyway?" she asked.

"Well, Rory's got a new game that he was going to bring over tonight..." Benny trailed off under Sarah's withering look. Both he and Ethan blushed.

"That's _all?_ I'm ignoring something weird so that you three can play video games?"

"You can play, too, if you like…" blurted out Ethan, going crimson as he said it. Benny stared at him in disbelief.

Sarah opened her mouth to refuse, but then caught Ethan's pleading look, and, again, the same feeling came over her. "OK," she said slowly. "Maybe I will. See what all the fuss is about. Say… half past six-ish?"

Ethan nodded, his tongue feeling swollen in his mouth. "Yeah!" he eventually managed to say.

Rory beamed. "It's a date!"

As soon as the words came out of his mouth, all four of them suddenly became very awkward, but none more so than Ethan and Sarah. "Er…Um…" spluttered Ethan.

Benny recovered the fastest. Putting a hand on Ethan's shoulder, he steered him away from the lockers. "See you two later, then! Now, we've got to get to class." Walking quickly, they were soon out of sight.

Relieved, Sarah turned to go, leaving a bemused Rory looking at his watch.

"But there's fifteen minutes until the end of lunch break!"

None of them noticed the steady creep of webbing down the walls of the corridor from the ceiling.


	22. Eight Legged Geeks - Part 2

**Gone forth as spiders do**

After school, Ethan, Benny and Rory walked out of the gate together, heading for Ethan's house. On the way, Benny asked the question that had been building up inside of him since lunch.

"_Why _did you invite Sarah over?"

"Because that's the closest he can get to asking her out," said Rory, with a grin.

"Yeah, like you're any closer with Erica…" muttered Ethan. He frowned, and then said, huffily: "No, it's not that at all, Rory. It's just that, well, I had to do something, or she would never have let us get away with not reacting to her suspicions. I actually didn't expect her to go along with it."

"But she did…" whispered Benny, teasingly, in his ear. "What do you think that means, E.?"

Ethan scowled. "I have no idea, and, frankly, I don't care!"

"Touchy. Well, don't worry; she probably just wants to spend time with me. All the female vampires in Whitechapel do," said Rory.

Benny looked at Ethan and rolled his eyes. "_Really._ Much evidence of that, Rory?"

"They keep their distance. They're too awed to dare to associate themselves with me."

"Yeah…" said Ethan, slowly. "Something like that, anyway." He was relieved, though, as they had almost reached his house, and the subject of the conversation seemed to have moved away from him and Sarah. He changed the subject still further.

"So, have you got the game, Rory?"

Rory nodded.

"Absolutely sure?" said Benny. They had long experience with Rory.

"Definitely," replied Rory, patting his bag. A worried look passed across his face. It didn't go unnoticed. Ethan sighed.

"_Really_ definitely sure?"

Rory looked at both of them, then smiled embarrassedly and quickly shook his head. He dumped his bag at their feet. "Er… I'll be back in a minute…" With that, he sped off back towards school.

Shaking his head, Ethan picked up Rory's bag. "Come on, Benny. We'll wait for him inside."

"At least as a vampire he can run much faster now," said Benny as the pair of them went through the front door. Ethan nodded.

"He should be back very soon."

* * *

Sometime later, Ethan looked up from the game that he and Benny were playing to check the clock.

"Benny, it's half past six! Sarah will be here any minute!" He stood up, brushing fragments of crisps onto the floor. Just then, the doorbell rang.

Ethan hurriedly smoothed out the wrinkles in his clothes. He looked anxiously at Benny. "Do I look OK?"

"How would I know?" asked his friend, still sprawled on the floor. "And, anyway, why would you be bothered? She sees you all the time."

"Yeah…" Ethan nodded. "But, when you've got a guest coming over, you have to be presentable."

"You've never made yourself 'presentable' when I come over. Quite the opposite, on many occasions!"

"That's different!" exclaimed Ethan, going a little pink. "You're … um … different."

"_Why?"_ laughed Benny, enjoying his friend's embarrassment.

At a loss for a tightly reasoned argument, Ethan took the easy option and threw a pillow at Benny, before leaving the room. Once he was out of sight of Benny, he licked his hand to try and press down some wayward hair. Reaching the door, he took a deep breath, and opened it.

"Hi, Ethan!" said Sarah, brightly. She frowned. "Why is half of your head wet?"

Embarrassed, Ethan just shrugged and quickly led her up to his room.

"Hi, Benny!"

He waved at her lazily from the floor, his head now resting on the pillow Ethan had thrown at him. "Hey. Much more comfortable like this, E., by the way. Thanks."

As Ethan rolled his eyes, Sarah looked around the room. "Where's Rory?"

Ethan and Benny both looked straight at each other, horrified. "Er…"

The both went very pale. "He – He went out to get the game from school," Ethan finally managed to say. "But, um, that was more than two hours ago…"

"It's taken you _two hours_ to notice that he hadn't come back from somewhere that is two _minutes_' walk from here?" asked Sarah, incredulous.

"Be fair, Sarah," said Benny. "This is _Rory_ we're talking about. He'd forget his own head if it wasn't properly attached. And there's doubt about whether it is, too."

"Some friends you two are," remarked Sarah archly.

"No," replied Benny. "We've just known him a long time." Benny looked thoughtful. "In fact, knowing Rory…" Benny stretched out an arm and tried vainly to grab the strap of Rory's bag.

"You are allowed to move, you know, Benny," said Ethan, playfully poking his friend in the side with a foot. Benny scowled and made an extra effort, finally catching hold of the bag and dragging it to him.

"But this is so much more comfy!" Benny opened the bag and (somewhat cautiously - this was Rory, after all) rummaged through it. His expression brightened, and he pulled out a CD case. "I thought so. He had it with him all along. He didn't leave it at school." He turned his head towards Sarah. "That's why he's been so long. He can't find it, because it isn't missing."

Benny waved the case at Ethan. "Want to play?"

By now, though, Ethan was frowning. "What if there really was something going on at school? And Rory ran right into it?"

"_Now_ you take me seriously," said Sarah. "We need to get going to make up for lost time."

"Yeah, OK," replied Ethan, grabbing his jacket. "Benny, come on!" He suddenly remembered their recent argument. "Er… That is, if you want…"

Sarah, frustrated, intervened. "Benny, you're coming with us whether you like it or not!"

"Aww… But…" Benny waggled the case again forlornly. "It's right here!" He glanced at the others who were standing, arms folded, by the door, waiting for him. He scowled. "Oh, all right." With a sigh, he got to his feet and picked up his own jacket. "I'm coming."

Ethan smiled apologetically and followed Sarah out of the door, Benny close behind.

* * *

Out in the street, the three of them walked in nervous silence towards the school. "We seek out danger, don't we," commented Ethan, the shake in his voice betraying his fear. "This could be anything, and we willingly walk right up to it."

Benny grinned. "Well, who else is going to?"

Suddenly, the three of them were startled by the appearance of a blonde figure in the road in front of them. They had just dropped out of the sky. For a moment, a hope fluttered through Ethan's heart that it was Rory, but as the figure got closer, it was obviously Erica.

She advanced on Ethan, ignoring all the others (a little to Benny's disappointment). "_You_."

He blanched, and tried to work out what he'd done. "Me?"

"It's been a week now. Where's my washing?"

"Ah…" In all the excitement of the renewal of his friendship with Benny, Ethan had rather neglected his other occupations.

Sarah, meanwhile, just laughed. "Is that all you think about when you see Ethan – your washing?"

Erica turned to her. "Well, I don't want to think about him at all. If he were to get any more room in my mind, people might think that we know each other." She turned back to Ethan. "Well, where is it, nerd?"

Ethan thought quickly, and glanced across at Sarah. This just might prove useful. "I'm just about to collect it from school. You can come with us and pick it up yourself, if you like." He looked pleadingly at Sarah.

"Come on, Erica, this way you'll get your stuff now," said Sarah.

Erica stared at her. "But what if someone sees me with _them_."

Sarah shrugged. "They'll just assume that they were two nerds who follow you devotedly. Which," she glanced at Benny, "may not be wholly untrue."

Erica wrinkled her nose. "OK. But keep your distance. Especially _you_," she growled at Benny.

They walked on, Sarah with Erica, Benny and Ethan just behind. When they reached school, though, they all froze in horror. The whole building was entirely cocooned in webbing.


	23. Eight Legged Geeks - Part 3

**All that journey down through space**

"_Now_ do you believe me?" asked Sarah, raising an eyebrow at Ethan and Benny, who were gazing, open mouthed, at what had happened to their school. Slowly, they nodded.

"What _is_ that?" breathed Erica, her eyes wide with fascination. "It looks… amazing. So pure and clean."

"It's web, Erica," said Sarah, looking with surprise at her friend's enthusiasm.

"Eww," said Erica, recoiling. "Not so pure and clean, then."

They started walking towards it. "Hey," said Benny, warily. "Why are we walking towards it?"

Sarah looked at him. "If there's something strange…"

"…In your neighbourhood," sang Erica to herself, and dancing to a beat that only she could hear. "Who ya gonna call?" She built herself up to shout –

"Ahem." Sarah looked pointedly at her and shook her head. Erica snapped back to her usual self, clearly embarrassed. Behind her, Ethan and Benny grinned at each other and mouthed the next line. Erica turned and glared at them.

"Not. A. Word."

They nodded obediently, but, as soon as she had turned away, they couldn't help breaking into broad smiles.

"Right, well, moving on," said Sarah, wearily. "Who else is going to sort this out, Benny? Besides, Rory might be in danger in there. Or maybe even other students or teachers."

"Yeah, like everyone else goes back to school in the evening…" muttered Benny.

Ethan nudged him. "Well, I used to think that teachers lived in the school, remember?"

Sarah glanced at him. "Aww. You must have been the sweetest little kid."

"What do you mean _was_?" said Benny. Sarah looked at him questioningly.

Benny laughed quickly. "What I mean is, er, he still believed it right up until we started _high school_." Ethan scowled at his friend, then flushed and looked away, while Sarah just raised her eyebrows and smiled.

"Weirdo," said Erica, moving away from Ethan. Realising that this sent her slightly closer to Benny, she scooted back towards Ethan, before finally deciding to accelerate away from them both.

By now, they had reached the school gates. Sarah walked cautiously up to the thick silken web. It moved gently in the light breeze.

"What do you think caused it?" asked Benny.

Ethan looked at him despairingly. "Name three things that make web."

"Um… Spiders…spiders…a-and spiders. So you think this might be to do with spiders, then?"

Ethan nodded. "That would be my bet, Benny, yes." His friend paled slightly.

"I don't like spiders…" he whispered.

"Well, to do this much so quickly," said Sarah, gesturing at the sheer amount of webbing, "either there are lots of spiders, or one really huge spider. Either way, I think it's probably normal to be scared of it."

"I'm not scared!" declared Benny, puffing himself up.

"And there he admits that he's not normal," said Erica under her breath. "So, how do we get in?"

"You're unusually keen to help, Erica," commented Sarah.

"_Hello_. I've got clothes in there. They might be in danger! Anyway, time's wasting, so, nerds, work out a way to get in."

"Magic?" suggested Benny, with a broad grin. He spread his hands and closed his eyes, preparing himself.

"Wait!" said Ethan.

Benny opened his eyes again and looked at him, impatient. "What?"

"If there's something magical going on here, then it will be able to sense your magic. We want to keep the element of surprise as long as possible – hopefully until we know what we're dealing with."

Sarah nodded. "Ethan's right. This is going to have to be done without magic."

Benny screwed up his face, but didn't argue.

"Surely it should just rip?" said Erica, testing it with a finger. Her nails pressed into the web, but it only bent, and she couldn't get a grip on it. "Oh. That's not helpful."

Ethan frowned. "Spider silk is meant to be stronger than steel. Besides, this is the main door. We're going to need to get rid of a lot of web if we're going to get through it. I think that we should try to find a side door. Come on."

With that, he led them around the corner of the school building.

At a place where he knew there to be a side door, Ethan paused and examined the web closely. "I think that we need a lot of pressure to get through this."

"I'll handle this," said Erica, readying herself to kick. Ethan held up his hand.

"I don't think we need that, Erica." He thought rapidly, his brow furrowed. "Does anyone have a pin?" he eventually asked. He looked at Sarah.

"Hairband, sorry," said Sarah, pointing at it. Ethan turned his querying look at Erica.

Erica shrugged. "I've got nothing."

Ethan raised an eyebrow at Benny. "I don't suppose that you've got anything…?"

Benny smiled and reached down the front of his stripy jumper. After a moment of fumbling, he brought out a small badge. He handed it to Ethan, who looked it over.

"Is this that name badge from last year's Star Trek convention we went to?"

Benny nodded. "Yeah. I wear it all the time."

"_Why_?" asked Sarah, incredulous.

"Just in case I'm horribly mutilated, so that when they scrape me up they know who I am."

The other three looked at him warily. Erica edged a little further away from him than she already was. Even Ethan thought that Benny was being a little morbid.

"_What?" _he exclaimed, looking affronted. "This is Whitechapel! Getting horribly mutilated and scraped into a shoebox at some point is even statistically _likely_. And, hey, it's good to be prepared for all eventualities!"

Ethan shook his head, resignedly. "Fine… Thanks, Benny." With that, he turned back to the web.

"What are you going to do with that?" asked Erica.

"This," said Ethan, with a small smile. In a deft movement, he stuck the pin through the web, and brought it out again. He beamed proudly. He got only blank stares in response.

"Is that it?" asked Sarah, after a while. "A tiny hole?"

"No, that's no just it!" said Ethan, exasperated at the under-appreciation of his work. "I've created a loose thread of web." Ethan pointed to the tiny strand that was waving in the light. He grinned at them.

"I still don't get it –" began Sarah, frowning.

Ethan sighed, and then, taking the thread between finger and thumb, he pulled on it, and a silken stream rapidly came away in his hands, creating a long, thin slit.

"Coming in?" he asked, stepping through it.


	24. Eight Legged Geeks - Part 4

**In spider's web a truth discerning**

Once they were all inside the strange tent of web, there was still the door to open. Sarah gave the door a push.

"Locked," she said.

Erica coughed gently. They turned to look at her. "May I?" she asked.

"Feel free," said Ethan, standing aside and gesturing at the door. A pleased look on her face, Erica cracked her knuckles and stepped back a little. In a quick movement, she launched herself at the door, breaking it open with a sharp 'crack'.

"Problem solved," she said, holding it open for them as they trooped in. Both Benny and Ethan looked somewhat nervously at her. Benny looked at the splintered lock, and then gulped. When he looked back up, he saw Erica grinning at him sinisterly.

"Best not get on the wrong side of me, nerd. Or…" she trailed off, but flexed her fingers menacingly. A paling Benny backed away a little and smiled weakly. He rubbed his neck anxiously.

"That's OK, Erica. I like all my bones just the way they are. Er, unbroken. You don't need to worry about me…"

"Good," she said, softly. Sarah elbowed her.

"Quit scaring Benny. That isn't what we're here for."

Erica pouted. "I have to do it sometime. Subtle hints don't seem to have any effect." She glared at him, and then turned to Ethan. "What now?"

"We find Rory. And then the spider." Ethan winced. "Though I have a bad feeling that we'll find both at once." He looked around the dark corridor. "Let's get going."

They started to walk down the short corridor to the main hallway. Benny remained where he was for a moment longer.

"I want to make it quite clear that I wasn't scared of Erica!" he said, insistently, though no one was really listening. "I'm just… prioritising my health…" He trailed off, with a worried expression on his face. "Well, OK, maybe I am scared, a bit," he mumbled to himself. Looking up, he saw that the others had got quite far ahead.

"Wait for me!" he whispered urgently, and then hurried after them.

* * *

Benny caught up with the other three in the main hall. Pushing past curtains of web, he went to stand next to them. They had stopped and were looking at something that frightened them.

"Is that –" he started.

"Rory's locker? Yeah," replied Sarah, slowly.

While everything else was thickly covered with web, the front of Rory's locker was entirely bare, with fragments of torn web littering the floor. The door of the locker was deeply scored and dented, and had broken off of its top hinge. The four of the watched it swing forlornly back and forth, a strange creak echoing around the corridor.

"So…" said Sarah, nervously. "Looks like we _are_ looking for both at once."

Ethan nodded.

"Do you think he's still alive?" asked Benny, tentatively.

Sarah looked at him. "Rory's a vampire. He's pretty much immortal. If he's been poisoned, he'll recover. Then again, I can't imagine being eaten by a spider will be a terrific experience."

"Where do you think it might have gone?" asked Benny.

Ethan frowned, and then gingerly placed his hand on the battered locker door –

_Ethan got an impression of a struggle, and then pictures of corridors, stairs, and finally a cavernous attic space. His vision panned around towards the dark shape lurking at the back._

– Before Ethan could see what it was, the vision broke off, and his eyes went back to their usual colour. Staring wildly around him, he looked for something familiar from his vision.

"Did you see anything?" asked Sarah.

Ethan nodded. "Yeah… It was weird, like seeing a video of what it was like to be Rory. I didn't know that I could do that." He frowned. "This way, I think."

* * *

Ethan led the way down a corridor. Just the application of some web and the strange near darkness that resulted seemed to disorientate them in what should have been very familiar surroundings. They pressed on through curtain after curtain of cobwebs, disgustedly brushing it off themselves as they passed through them. It was futile, as after only a moment they were covered again.

Passing a cupboard door that he recognised, Ethan paused. Opening the door, and brushing aside more webbing, he grabbed something, and showed it to the others with a flourish.

"Ta-da!" he exclaimed.

It didn't have the effect he'd hoped, partly because the movement had showered them in fragments of cobwebs and dust, but mainly due to the fact that he was now brandishing a large pink feather duster at them.

Brushing herself down (again), Erica looked at him with disdain. "And what exactly do you intend to do with _that_?"

"It's for cleaning away cobwebs!" said Ethan. "The perfect weapon." With that, he flailed it at the nearest section of web, brushing it aside. He waved it around, seemingly oblivious to how ridiculous he looked.

Despite their situation, Sarah couldn't help doubling over with laughter as Ethan practically pranced around dusting away cobwebs with an extremely self-important air.

"Is there some kind of pinny that goes with that, Ethan? Maybe a bonnet?"

He scowled. "Look, it's not my fault that it's pink! I'm not really in a position to pick and choose."

Still laughing, Sarah just shook her head. "Careful, Ethan, Benny's supposed to be the one that's weird…"

"Hey!" protested Benny. He then looked shiftily about, and then affected nonchalance as he looked back at Ethan. "Was there only one…?"

This time, both Sarah and Erica laughed, and impatiently pushed Benny in front of them, behind Ethan, who was cheerily disposing of the cobwebs as he led them deeper and deeper into the school. Still, they had to admit that the feather duster wasn't doing too bad a job.

* * *

Caught up in his work, Ethan moved ahead of them slightly. Behind him, Erica started to moan to Sarah.

"How much further do you think it is? It feels like we've been up and down these corridors dozens of times. And I never knew that the school had so many stairs."

Sarah looked about. Despite the webbing, there was clearly dust visible on the floor. This was a part of the school rarely visited. "It can't be much further…" she murmured to Erica. She felt a tug on her sleeve, and turned around with a start, ready to attack.

It was only Benny, who raised his hands. "Hey, no need to be so jumpy. I just wanted to ask something."

"What?" asked Sarah, eyeing him.

"What's the plural of LEGO?"

"_What?_" exclaimed Sarah. "Is this really the time?"

"Isn't it LEGOs?" chipped in Erica. Sarah looked at her in exasperation.

"Well, maybe, but that sounds kind of stupid, doesn't it?" replied Benny. Erica looked thoughtful.

"Yeah…" Again, she came to her senses as she realised what she was talking about, and flounced away from him.

Benny shrugged. "Ethan'll know." Sarah just rolled her eyes as they started walking again.

"Ethan!" Benny whispered . There was no answer.

Sarah sighed. "He must have gotten really far ahead while you babbled on, Benny. We need to catch him up. We need to find that spider." The three of them hurried onwards.

"Ethan?" hissed Benny, more urgently. He started to feel worried. The feeling grew worse as they reached an almost unbroken curtain of web. "Er… Ethan?"

Stepping forwards, his foot felt something hard. Fearfully, he looked down. The feather duster lay on the floor, abandoned.

"Guys?" he quavered. "I think Ethan found the spider…"


	25. Eight Legged Geeks - Part 5

**Attach one silken thread to you**

The remaining three looked down at the feather duster which lay ominously on the floor. In their heightened state of fear, they became aware of rustling and other strange noises that seemed close at hand. Scanning the area around them, there appeared to be nothing there, but the edges of the corridor were in darkness, and none of them could see much. Benny picked up Ethan's dropped duster.

"We've got to be _really_ careful now."

Drawing quite close together, they advanced through the webbing. This was definitely an area in the rafters of the school that they had never been to. There seemed to be only one way to go: up the sloping hallway and into the darkness in front of them.

Motioning them to move quietly, Sarah led the way, ducking past overhanging webs and trying to be as silent as possible. Examining the floor, she saw two sets of drag marks.

"Ethan and Rory," she mouthed at Benny and Erica, pointing at the disturbance in the dust. She looked at a handprint. It was the right size for Ethan, and was topped with long, faint, scratches where he had tried to gain a grip on the floor. Clearly he'd failed, but the fact that he had been trying was a good sign. He hadn't been poisoned and paralysed. Yet.

Padding softly on, Sarah and the others followed the marks around a corner and into yet another dark and dusty corridor.

"How many corridors are there up here?" muttered Benny. "It's like a maze!"

"I think we've found the middle," murmured Sarah in reply, and nodded her head down the passage.

At the end, shrouded in shadow, was an old wooden door. It was the only one in the corridor. That must have been where the boys had been taken to.

"Is that…?" Benny whispered to her.

"Where the spider is? I think so," replied Sarah. They edged towards it, batting aside cobwebs.

Suddenly, Erica froze, her mouth partly open in disgust.

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!" she squealed, as a small shower of spiders, disturbed by the movement, rained down upon her. Frantically, she tried to rid herself of them, with Sarah making panicked shushing motions with her hands, trying to get Erica to calm down.

Benny let one run across his hand. He showed it to Erica. "Look," he whispered. "It's tiny. Just an ordinary little spider. Nothing to be scared about. It's probably been here for years."

Embarrassed at her reaction, Erica responded aggressively. Taking the spider from Benny's hand, she crushed it in her palm, to both his, and Sarah's, horror and revulsion. Smiling at them, she whispered:

"I ain't afraid of no spiders."

Raising an eyebrow at the reference, Sarah nodded slowly and turned away to continue walking towards the door. Baring her teeth at Benny, Erica followed, wiping her hand on a sheet of web. Benny looked at it with a revolted fascination, his dark eyebrows making a ridge on his forehead and his mouth formed a perfect 'o'. He then stared after Erica in something of a daze. Shaking his head, he forced all of his startled thoughts to one side, and hurried after the two girls.

* * *

Sarah approached the door cautiously, aware of every slight creak of the floorboards as she took each step. The door shook and the handle rattled, but Sarah could hear nothing on the other side. Beckoning to Erica and Benny, she sidled up to it and crouched next to the partition wall. The others followed her and bent close in.

"What do we do?" asked Benny in a low voice, his eyes wide with fear, while he tried to control his breathing and keep his voice level. It didn't take Sarah and Erica's advanced hearing for them to be aware that his heart was thumping quickly and loudly.

"We can't just barge in there. We need a plan," said Sarah. "Benny, we're going to need –"

Suddenly, Erica put a hand over Sarah's mouth and put her finger to her lips. "I think I heard something," she mouthed to them.

They listened, tense with fear. After a wait that seemed to stretch on endlessly through the semi-darkness, Sarah shrugged and shook her head. She started to whisper again.

"Nothing. Now, Benny, the –"

Smashing through the thin wall burst a pair of enormous legs, which grabbed Sarah. Screaming, she twisted and tried to escape its grip, kicking at the jaws of the spider in an attempt to free herself. After leaping back in fright, Benny and Erica recovered themselves and grabbed Sarah's arms, trying to pull her away from the spider.

It was no use. The spider was too strong even for Erica, and, as Benny and Erica watched in horror, the struggling figure of Sarah was pulled through the hole and swiftly bound up in silk. She was bundled to one side, out of view of the pair of them, but they could still hear her muffled cries for help. Just beyond the spider could be seen two more bundles, one with a shock of blonde hair, the other with a mop of dark hair – Rory and Ethan. There seemed to be some movement with the silken lumps, which gave them some hope for their survival.

Before they had time for that to cheer them, however, the spider levelled its eight eyes at Benny and Erica, and tried to thrust itself through the hole in the wall. It was unable to fit its body through, and the pair of them were just able to scrabble away from its grasping front legs. Initially, he swiped at it in a futile gesture with the feather duster, but, regaining his presence of mind, Benny hastily concocted a spell, and hurriedly sent a very inaccurate fireball at the creature. Although it missed, and only succeeded in scorching the wall, the spider was sufficiently frightened to stop attacking them, and to retreat into its room.

Breathing heavily, and slick with sweat, Benny stared in terror at Erica, who gave him a nervous look in return. Seeing the spider readying itself for another attack, Erica thought quickly. Ripping up some nearby floorboards, Erica quickly forced them over the gap.

"Can you fix these in position?" she asked, frantically. Benny thought, frowning. Erica's body shook as the spider charged again, but, with her splayed over the wooden boards, it didn't get through.

"Quickly!" she snapped at him.

With a muttered word from Benny, the boards glowed orange and melted into the wall. "That should stop it coming out," he said. "But we need to get _in._"

With the sound of the spider slamming itself crazily against the patched up partition, Erica and Benny looked at each other worriedly. They didn't have long, and that spider was _really_ mad now.

They had no idea what they were going to do.


	26. Eight Legged Geeks - Part 6

**For my returning**

Benny and Erica stared wide eyed at each other as the banging and crashing continued in the next room.

"OK. OK. OK. O-kay…" repeated Benny to himself, as if reciting some kind of mantra, as he stood, frozen to the spot, in blind panic at their situation.

Erica snapped out of the startled daze first, and then crossed the room, and ignoring the close proximity in the urgency of the situation, slapped Benny across the face. This brought him out of his trance-like state, and he stopped endlessly repeating.

"Ouch!" he said, rubbing his cheek. "That hurt, Erica!" Then he looked slightly dreamy. "You touched me…"

"Yeah, well, that's the only time that's ever going to happen, nerd," sneered Erica; already back in her customary manner, she wiped her hand in disgust on a piece of webbing, exactly like she had done with the crushed spider. To Benny, this was a gigantic upgrade in recognition – certainly Rory had never gotten beyond dismissal – to reach disgust was something of an honour.

"Well, how are we going to fix this?" asked Erica.

Benny thought like he supposed Ethan would have done. Nothing. But, then, he hadn't really expected a massive fluffy picture of Sarah filling his mind to have helped much anyway. He thought more realistically: what would _grandma_ do?

Slowly, Benny came up with a plan. "We play to our strengths…" he said, absently.

"Which are?" said Erica, looking Benny up and down derisively. "Getting beaten up?"

Benny shook his head. "You need to go in there and cause as much of a distraction as possible. Speed, destruction, kicking stuff… You know what I mean. Keep the spider focusing its attention on you, for you're the one most likely to be able to avoid getting trapped by it."

"And what will you be doing?" asked Erica. "Using your special hiding skills?"

Affronted, Benny spread his hands wide. "Using magic, of course. While you distract it, I'll make a bit of lightning, build up some energy and – boom! No more spider. Or, well, lots of bits of spider, I guess…"

Erica wrinkled up her nose. "That's the plan?"

Benny nodded. "Got any better ideas?"

Erica shrugged. "Let's squish this bug!"

They went and stood by the door and Benny grasped the handle. "Ready?" he asked. "On three. One – Two – Three!"

At that, he wrenched the door open and Erica shot into the room, vaulting over the back of the gigantic spider, which scuttled around to face her.

Inside the small room was a gigantic web, stuck to which were three bound figures – Ethan, Rory and Sarah. Unable to do anything about them, Erica leaped around in front of the spider, keeping its eight eyes trained on her at all times. It swiped at her – she leaped back, and, ripping up a board, swung at it herself.

By now, Benny had slipped into the room, muttering to himself as he created the spell.

Erica continued to hold the spider's attention, keeping herself just out of reach, while still striking with the wooden plank when she had the chance. Just when she seemed to be getting the better of it, though, the spider reared up knocking the board back at Erica, and catching her a glancing blow on the side of the head. It was enough to make her lose her balance and topple backwards, where she got tangled up in the web. The spider prepared to strike.

"Hey!" shouted Benny. The creature turned around, focusing its eyes on him curiously. "Prepare to be Benny-ized!"

Erica looked at him over the top of the spider with consternation.

Benny frowned. "It doesn't work, does it… " The spider looming over him, his brow furrowed, and he started to talk to himself. "Benny-fied…Bennied… Why is it only Ethan that this works for?"

"Benny!" screeched Erica. "Stop working out what dramatic thing you're going to say and just _do something!_"

Shrugging, Benny said the last words of the spell, flourished the feather duster, and was flung backwards as a huge streak of pale lightning arced from him to the spider, which built into a glowing mass.

The spider seemed suspended above Benny, its jaws open revealing its fangs. Everything came to a sudden stop for that one moment as the spell appeared not to have any effect, and was merely absorbed by the body of the spider. Benny gazed up at the enormous creature. Had he failed?

Then the spider flared blue as the magic expanded outwards. It exploded, showering the room in bile, blood, and, frankly, bits of spider.

Wiping blue muck from his face, Benny hurried over to the web. Erica had managed to stand up, and was staring at spider-drenched body in revulsion. "You know all the other times I've said 'Euurrgh!', in my entire life?" she said, in a deliberately level voice. "Only now do I realise how little there was to complain about…"

They turned to the wrapped up figures. The web at been destroyed by the disintegrating spider, and so all three were now lying in a line on the floor.

"Sarah?" called Erica, hurrying over to her, while Benny attended to Ethan and Rory. At a word from Benny, the bundles untied, revealing their three friends.

Groaning, Sarah sat up, massaging life back into her arms and legs. "That was _not_ pleasant. Erica, why is there blue goo in your hair?" Erica hadn't the energy to reply.

As Benny knelt by his head, Ethan's eyes fluttered open gently. They were drawn to the pink feather duster in Benny's hand. "You've found yourself a wand, then," he said, with a faint smile.

Benny laughed and held it up as if weighing it up. "Yeah. Harry Potter eat your heart out!"

Rubbing his head, Ethan also managed to sit up. "How's Rory?"

Quickly, Benny made his way to his other friend's side. Rory was lying very still. Benny leaned in close, and then looked up at Ethan with a fearful expression.

"He's not breathing, Ethan! I think he might be –"

"Undead?" chipped in Sarah from behind him. "He's a vampire, Benny. We don't breathe anyway."

Benny flushed. "Oh, yeah…" He bent over Rory again. "He's still not moving, though."

Just then he felt a hand cover his. "You saved me!" murmured Rory, his eyes closed. Benny was about to reply when Rory continued talking. "Does this mean you want to go out with me?"

Startled, Benny's mouth dropped open. He couldn't speak.

His eyes still stuck shut, when he didn't get a reply Rory twisted his head around, like he was trying to look around. "Erica? Erica? Why aren't you answering?"

Relieved, Benny sank back and smiled broadly. "It's me, Rory. Benny, not Erica."

"Oh," came a disappointed voice. "Will you pass the message along?"

Looking at a laughing Ethan beside him, Benny's face cracked into a grin. Rory was so… predictable at times. "OK, Rory, but I can't make any guarantees."

He helped his two friends up, while Rory at last managed to prise his eyes open. Catching sight of Erica, he rushed up to her, smiling broadly. Looking at the remains of the spider in her hear, he beamed more widely. "New shampoo?" he asked.

Erica stared down her nose at him, sighed once, and then turned on her heel and walked with Sarah out of the room.

Rory turned back to Ethan and Benny as they wearily prepared to follow. "I think that's a definite 'maybe'!" he exclaimed joyfully.

Shaking their heads in amusement, the two of them escorted Rory down the corridor.

"You know that the game was in your bag all along?" said Benny.

Rory looked sheepish. "It was…? Oops."

"We'll play it when we get back," promised Ethan.

Benny looked each of them up and down. "Maybe we'll have a shower first. Get rid of the spider gloop? Make ourselves _presentable_?" He raised an eyebrow at Ethan, who merely stuck his tongue out in reply.

* * *

Following Sarah and Erica, they reached the ground floor, and the front door of the school - and home - was in view. There was still web everywhere. Looking at it, Sarah commented: "Whoever gets to clean this up is going to have fun…"

"That's quite right, young lady," said a stern voice, shocking all of them.

"Mr Hilt!" squeaked Sarah as she saw their teacher. He was wearing pyjamas, a dressing gown and even a bobbled nightcap, but still looked imposing. He was covered with web, and glowered down at the five of them.

"What is this, some kind of end of term prank?" he stormed at them. "Do you think this is _funny_?"

They all started to protest at once, but he held up his hand.

"Have you no thought for the damage to property, the inconvenience to the cleaners and to other members of staff? You are the only ones who can have been the perpetrators. I should have known when Sarah and Erica were covered in web earlier today. I didn't think that you were all part of the same gang! But don't worry. Everyone will know about your little group tomorrow, because you'll be the ones out of class cleaning the entire school. Now, go home before I change my mind and make your punishment _more severe_."

He glared at them as they filed, subdued, out of the main door. Once in the street, they all started to complain at once, venting their frustration all the way up the street.

"You know," said Benny with a sigh as they reached Ethan's house, "sometimes I really wonder why we even bother."

Nodding in miserable agreement, they went their separate ways.


	27. Episode 5 - A Midsummer Night's Bite

**I feel that I have neglected Rory so far, so episode 5 will focus a bit more on him. As usual, reviews appreciated!**

* * *

A Midsummer Night's Bite

* * *

**Obscurest night involved the sky**

The five of them had finally finished clearing up the school. Once they had cleared up all the webbing, which had taken three day, they had then been set to restore the school to a pristine condition. Every corner had been scrubbed, and every window cleaned. The school was now immaculate.

What was no longer immaculate was the state of all five. Working ten hours a day to remove years of accumulated grime had left each of them filthy by the end of every day. Even vigorous showers every morning and evening did little to dull the feeling of dirt clinging to them.

This wouldn't have been so had, had they not been humiliated in front of the entire school. While Rory, Ethan and Benny were quite used to being ridiculed, and so bore it fairly lightly, while Sarah didn't really care what people thought of her, it had affected Erica considerably. Reminding her of her former status in the school, Erica burned at the indignity, which was compounded by the fact that it associated her with Benny, Rory and Ethan, since she had spent the entirety of the time since her transformation avoiding them as much as possible. These days, though, she could now channel her anger much more destructively, and so all of the other four were glad that they were suffering with her, and not one of the many kids who laughed at her.

The punishment, though, was now over – two days into the summer holiday. It was Sunday, and the five of them had, at last, polished the final part of the school – the gate – to Mr Hilt's satisfaction.

"All right," he said, as Ethan and Benny stood back from oiling the hinges, plastering oil onto their foreheads as they wiped the sweat from their brows. "The school is now clean." He ran a finger over the gate for any sign of dirt. "And so are your permanent records. I am not a vindictive man, and, so, you are free to resume your normal school careers as if this never happened."

He broke into an uncharacteristic smile. "You may go. Have a good summer!" With that, he turned away, and began to walk into the school. He stopped, and looked back at the five. "I hope you've learned your lesson. I don't want to ever see you in trouble again."

"Oh," replied Erica coolly, "you won't…" She smiled at him sweetly, and, reassured, he walked off. As soon as he had gone, Erica's eyes flashed and her fangs jutted out. "You won't see _anything_!" she hissed angrily.

The other four looked at her nervously, then, remembering the injustice of their situation, decided as one that they weren't really that bothered about what Erica did for revenge.

"I'll be right back," said Erica to Sarah, and slipping after the teacher.

Shrugging, Sarah turned to Ethan, Benny and Rory. "I'll see you guys later. I am still babysitting tonight, right?"

Ethan nodded. "Yeah, they're going to some special emergency meeting of the book club. I have no idea what that might be."

"Maybe even the proposer didn't bother to read the book," quipped Benny.

Ethan's lips quirked into a smile. "Quite likely… OK, er, see you later, Sarah!"

"Bye!" replied Sarah. "I'll be on Erica watch for the time being. Hopefully she won't go on a rampage. Again. Oh, there she is already."

An apparently disgruntled looking Erica had just exited the school doors, and Sarah hurried towards her. With a wave, the other three left.

* * *

As they walked along, Benny frowned in thought.

"What's up, Benny?" asked Rory.

"I was just wondering… Well, there's still one thing that I don't get."

"Just the one?" teased Ethan.

Benny swung a playful punch at his arm for that, which Ethan dodged, laughing. "As it happens, yeah, _just_ _the one_." He glared at his friend, who feigned remorse. "Anyway, I was thinking: _where_ did the spider come from? At first, I thought that it might have been one of my growth potions going missing –"

"Again," chipped in Rory.

"– Yeah, _again_, whatever, but there are definitely none missing. And I haven't made any for months. Grandma has explicitly forbidden me. And put traps down in the ingredient cupboard."

"I was wondering why you had bandaged fingers about a month ago," said Ethan, amused.

"Mmm. So, I don't think that the spider was my fault. And I looked it up, and that species is not native to the entire western hemisphere, let alone Canada."

Ethan looked thoughtful. "Maybe it's just a weird freak of nature. There have to be a few in Whitechapel. Just like that strange mulberry tree a couple of weeks back. It's probably nothing to worry about. We dealt with it, and the problem is fixed."

"Yeah… It would be nice to know why, though."

"Benny," said Ethan, wearily, "we're dealing with magic and vampires and ghosts all the time. Things happen for unexplained reasons. Not everything's a conspiracy."

"That's what they want you to think!" said Benny in a low voice, his eyes wide and staring. Then all three of them cracked up into laughter. They walked on a little further.

"Actually, there was another thing – does Mr Hilt live in school?" asked Benny.

Ethan smiled triumphantly. "I knew I was right! Teachers _do_ live in school. And you made it seem to Sarah like I was being childish." Ethan pouted, sticking his bottom lip out so far that he looked vaguely like a fish, which both Benny and Rory found hilarious.

"I think it's just this one teacher, Ethan," he said. "It's not a general rule. Why do you think he does?"

Rory shrugged. "Maybe he has nowhere else to go."

Benny snorted. "Even Principal Hicks goes home at some point." He frowned. "How long has he been here, anyway?"

"Not long, I don't think," said Rory. "But I don't really remember when he arrived. Do any of you?"

Ethan thought. "No… But, then again, we get new teachers all the time. Even if this one is slightly weird, it doesn't mean that he's suspicious. We should keep an eye on him, though. As much for him as for us – if he's new, then he might be in danger in Whitechapel.

"I think he's already in danger from Erica," said Benny, raising his eyebrows knowingly.

Ethan rocked his head from side to side. "_Well, _she's not going to kill him." He looked at the other two. "Probably."

By now, they were at Ethan's house. Rory looked about him, as if suddenly remembering something.

"I've got to go, guys! I have to clean up for my date with Erica!" With that, he flashed away in the direction of his house.

Benny looked at Ethan in astonishment. "Rory? Date? _Erica?_"

Ethan shrugged. "Who knows… Maybe it's only inside his head." He made his way up the stairs and turned to unlock the front door. "See you when we've had a wash…" he said over his shoulder. He went to wave goodbye and was startled to find Benny right behind him.

"Not going to get washed?" he asked. Benny looked embarrassed.

"Can I – Can I use your shower?"

Ethan sighed. "Why? You only live across the street."

"Well," Benny looked furtive, "Grandma's at home and she'll wonder why I'm all messy, and she'll find out that I've been in trouble, and then she'll –"

Ethan held up a hand. "Alright, alright." He opened the door, and waved Benny in. "But don't use up all the hot water – like last time."

"My hair doesn't get this awesome from half measures!" protested Benny from part way up the stairs.

"I don't care – make it quick," replied Ethan.

"We could always share. That would save water."

"Benny!" exclaimed a shocked Ethan, going rather pink.

"What?" replied his friend, innocently, an impish smile on his face.

"Shut up!"


	28. A Midsummer Night's Bite - Part 2

**Such a destined wretch**

"Nowhere!" blazed Erica at Sarah as she met her outside of the school doors. "It's like he just vanished!"

"But you were right behind him," said Sarah, confused. "I don't see how you could have missed him."

Erica frowned angrily. "Well, he's gone. Check for yourself!" With that, she flung open the school door and pushed Sarah inside. Walking up the corridor, Erica banged open every classroom door and every closet. There was no sign of anyone.

"He walked in here, I followed him not thirty seconds later, and it's as if he's dissolved into mist and floated away!" cried Erica in frustration. "And I so wanted to rip his throat out…"

"Well," said Sarah, "maybe it's for the best." Patting her friend on the shoulder, she steered her back into the playground. "After all, you wouldn't want to get blood all over your clothes in the middle of the day. Someone might get suspicious."

Erica shrugged. "Yeah, maybe… I still want to know how he got away, though. Nobody ever loses me!"

"He got lucky, I guess. There could be another door. There's no point worrying about it now."

With a sigh, Erica nodded reluctantly. "Plenty more snacks to be had, I suppose." Her eyes lighted upon a boy leaning on a lamppost at the corner of the street opposite the school, and she smiled wickedly. He had been one of the ones that had found their punishment funny, and had even gone as far to mess up areas that they had already cleaned.

"I'll be back later. Just got to grab a bite to eat, OK?"

Sarah looked in the direction of Erica's gaze and smiled thinly. "See you, then. Don't go too far."

"I won't, I promise." Erica started go glide away. "Oh, Sarah?" She spun back around.

"Yes?" said Sarah, as she was about to walk off home.

"Will you be at the nerd's house tonight?"

"Yeah, why?"

Erica smiled. "You'll see."

* * *

By the time that Rory returned to Ethan's house, it was getting dark. He'd chosen his clothes very carefully, and appeared on Ethan's doorstep entirely in black. There wasn't a logo or distinguishing mark to disrupt the impression of a continuous stream of black from head to foot. The effect was spoiled somewhat by his shock of blonde hair, but Rory appreciated the contrast.

When Ethan opened the door, he was rather surprised to see Rory dressed in such a co-ordinated fashion. Even Rory's socks were an unprecedented black (though, on close inspection, Ethan noticed that they were not, in fact, a pair). The overall effect in the growing darkness was to make Rory almost blend into the background – something that Rory had never managed to achieve in his ninja phase.

"Hi, Rory," said Ethan, a little taken aback. "You look, um, different…"

Rory grinned and twirled on the spot. "This for Erica. I hope it's alright."

From his position on the stairs, Benny was also rather startled as Rory came through the door. "Where are you taking Erica – on some kind of cat burglary? All you need is the balaclava."

Rory looked in the mirror. "You think?"

"Better than you, since you can't see anything in that mirror, Rory," grinned Benny.

Shrugging, Rory turned back around to face the other two. "Is Sarah here?"

Ethan nodded. "She's upstairs with Jane, doing – well, I'm not exactly sure."

"And Erica?" asked Rory.

Ethan looked bemused. "Why would she be here? She can't stand to be seen with us. Well, with Benny, at least." He smirked. Benny put on an aggrieved expression.

"I think you'll find that she finds me just fine!"

"Yeah, right…" said Ethan, rolling his eyes.

"Well, at least she doesn't prefer the company of my sister to me, like Sarah does with you!" retorted Benny.

"Hey! That's probably only because you don't even have –"

Rory cut across before Ethan and Benny could get swept up in their bickering. "Erica said that she'd meet me here before we went out."

"Oh," said Ethan. "Why here?"

Rory shrugged. "Who knows?" He glanced back towards the mirror that was, for him, empty. "I think I'll go and ask Sarah if I look OK. Get another opinion."

At that he pushed past Ethan.

"Ow!" cried Ethan in shock. Rory span around, concerned, while Benny, seemingly moving faster than a vampire, was already at Ethan's shoulder.

"What happened?" they chorused.

Ethan winced and examined the side of his hand. "I must have cut it on the gate earlier. It had scabbed over, but Rory just knocked it off. It's OK. It's already stopping bleeding."

He was right. Although his hand and wrist had rapidly become covered in a thin layer of dark, sticky blood, it was quickly drying.

"Sorry, Ethan!" said Rory, dabbing at it with a tissue from his pocket.

"That's OK, Rory. It was just an accident. You weren't to know." Ethan paused, and then turned his head slightly. "I'm fine, Benny. There's no need to be quite so close. I'm not going to suddenly keel over from blood loss."

"_Sorry_, just showing some concern," said Benny, backing away with his hands raised in a mock gesture of surrender. Ethan smiled.

"Hey, Rory, careful that you haven't got any blood on you. I think you could have some on your sleeve."

"Hmmm?" said Rory, looking up absent-mindedly. "What was that you were saying?"

Ethan opened his mouth to repeat himself, but then a shadow appeared outside the door, and the doorbell rang.

"Erica!" breathed Rory, hurriedly stuffing the bloodied tissue into his pocket and smoothing down his hair.

Ethan opened the door and let Erica in. She was also dressed from head to toe in black.

"Hi, Erica!" he said. "You –"

"I'm not talking to you, nerd!" said Erica, brusquely cutting him off.

Benny stepped forward with a smug smile, but before he could even start to speak, Erica held up a hand.

"Not talking to you _either_." She immediately turned to glare a warning at Rory. "Don't even think about opening your mouth."

"Some date you're going on…" muttered Benny. Erica just glared at each of the boys in turn, and an uncomfortable silence fell in the hallway.

Interested by the commotion in the hallway, mercifully Sarah was already on her way down the stairs, and looking confusedly at the four silent people. "Hi, Erica. Is everything OK?"

Erica nodded. Ethan, Benny and Rory shared a glance, and then followed suit.

"Erica, of course, doesn't talk to us, so we figured silence was the way to go!" said Ethan with an enthusiasm he didn't really feel.

Sarah raised her eyebrows and tilted her head from side to side. "Cool… I guess." She picked up on the similar clothing of Rory and Erica. "Nice threads. Very… vampiric. Why are you two dressed the same?"

"The solemn rite of Midsummer's Eve," replied Erica, stiffly.

"Really?" said Sarah. "That's not another one where Anastasia makes you bite the heads off of jelly babies?"

"Doesn't everyone do that?" put in Benny.

Erica ignored him. "No, this one is an ancient vampire ritual marking the exact midpoint of the year. That is midnight tonight. It is one of the most important dates in the vampire calendar."

"Oh, OK," said Sarah, frowning. "Should I come to that?"

Erica put a sympathetic hand on her shoulder. "I'm afraid not, Sarah. It's for real vampires only."

Sarah shrugged. She was secretly quite glad about that. All the vampire rituals that she had been to had been a little on the... _dull_ side."Oh, well. I'll have to stay here, then."

Erica leaned in closer. "There's still time for you to come with us, if you like," she whispered, making an almost imperceptible nod in the direction of Ethan and Benny.

"No!" cried Sarah, drawing away. "You can have your little party without me!"

"Fine," said Erica, turning for the door. "You'll have to bite someone eventually, Sarah! Without looking at Rory, she swept out of the door. "We mustn't be late," she called over her shoulder.

With an apologetic look, which was rapidly overtaken by one of devotion, Rory followed Erica outside.

Ethan, Benny and Sarah looked out after them. "I wonder what they'll get up to," mused Ethan.

"Whatever it is, it preoccupied them enough not to even react to you bleeding everywhere," said Benny, pointing at Ethan's red-stained hand.

"Yeah," said Ethan, frowning. "Weird. Lucky, though. We could have had a vampire riot on our hands!"


	29. A Midsummer Night's Bite - Part 3

**Beneath a rougher sea**

"Erica! Wait for me!" called Rory as he sped after her out of Ethan's house. As he caught up with her, she turned and knocked him to the floor.

As he picked himself up, Erica stood over him and gave him crisp, clear instructions.

"Right, nerd, you are coming with me to the Council tonight because it is apparently important that we arrive in a group – and since Sarah selfishly refuses to just bite her pet geeks and become a full vampire, _I_ am lumbered with _you_. There is no other reason. This is _not_ a date, and, if anyone asks, we are _not_ together. Got that?"

Rory opened his mouth to protest. "Well, I don't –"

Once Rory had got up from the floor again, Erica repeated the question. "Got that?"

He nodded, silently.

"Good. Now, as we go to the Council, you will stay at least five metres behind me at all times. You will not attempt to speak to me – in fact, you should try your very best not to even look in my direction. When we get there, you will, in silence, walk in with me, and then you will find another corner of the room as far away from where I am as possible and you will stay there for the rest of the night. Agreed? Or would you like to taste the pavement for a third time?"

"Agreed…" mumbled Rory, rubbing his head.

Erica smiled at him. "Good. Isn't it so much better when you just co-operate? Now, I'm going to walk on, and you are going to walk after me."

She did so. He did so, too, obeying all of her conditions. (Except for not looking at her with adoration throughout the entire journey – he _was_ trying his very best not to, though.)

* * *

Once at the council building, Rory slipped in next to Erica. One of the senior vampires was taking a register.

"Erica arriving with Rory," he muttered to himself as he checked off the names. "Sarah is still not a fledged vampire…" He looked up at them. "It's really not good enough. You two should be trying harder to get her off the substitute and onto real blood. Frankly, it's becoming embarrassing for us to have a six month fledgling."

He glared sternly at them, and they sidled away into the main council chamber. "Now, beat it, squirt!" Erica hissed in Rory's ear, giving him a shove that propelled him across the room.

Sitting down on his own, Rory waited to see what was going to happen. He'd been to a few vampire meetings before in his relatively short time as a vampire, but, looking around the room, this looked like the most serious. Everyone was in complete black, with most of the older vampires even wearing cloaks. The hall was lit with torches, and all the vampires were maintaining a strict silence.

If it were possible, the already silent room developed a sudden hush, and seemed to get even quieter. In fact, it was as if the air in the room had died. For all they cared, of course, it could have done, since they didn't breathe, but, for Rory, it was very unnerving.

The small figure of Anastasia stood up at the front of the room, and made her way to the raised podium. Holding a torch high above her head, she addressed the gathering:

"Brethren, we are gathered here tonight to mark the midpoint of the human year. From now on, the darkness takes control. We are creatures of that darkness – from this point each year they learn to fear us again. In order to command the darkness, we must attune ourselves with it."

Rory groaned inwardly. This was clearly going to be another of the unspeakably dull vampire meditation sessions that the Council seemed so fond of. Only this time, Anastasia was going to give them a boring, and, frankly, rather clichéd speech.

"Vampires, feel the darkness around you! Open your mind to it and let it fill the void of your former soul."

Rory obediently closed his eyes and tried to clear his mind of all the thoughts buzzing around in it. He wasn't hugely successful – just what was the difference between a raisin, a currant and a sultana? The type of grape? –

Irritated, he tried to push the thoughts away. Erica kept swimming back into his head, which made him smile with pleasure. So did Benny and Ethan. They had been acting a little weird lately, Rory felt. Very slightly awkward around each other. Probably just the aftermath of Ethan being removed from time…

He tried to tune back into what Anastasia was droning on about:

"…feel your inner bat…"

Rory sighed to himself. This was pointless. Suddenly, he felt his fangs slide out involuntarily. His eyes seemed to heat up under his eyelids, and he knew that they had changed to the amber of his vampire appearance. That was odd, he thought. Maybe this was working after all…

Just as he was succeeding in casting out his thoughts, he became distracted by an itch in his nose. He despaired. This was going to be embarrassing. He'd thought that becoming a vampire would have stopped him getting hay fever, but, if anything, his increased sensitivity to smell had made it worse. He was doomed to an agonising summer every year for eternity, he thought, morosely. And now he was going to sneeze in the middle of an important ritual. He wondered whether you could get thrown out of the Council.

Pulling a tissue out of his pocket, he jammed it to his nose and mouth, but it wasn't enough to stop the sound of the spluttering sneeze come flooding out into the deathly silence. It also broke his concentration, and his fangs receded and his eyes returned to normal. Mortified at himself, Rory quickly blinked his eyes open to check if anyone had been disturbed.

He was taken aback to find himself nose to nose with Anastasia, her eyes wide and shining, and her long fangs curving down to her chin. She seemed to be sniffing for something. Confused and afraid, Rory slowly realised that he was surrounded by all the other vampires, all sniffing and licking the air.

"Er… Is everything OK?" he asked, nervously.

In front of him, Anastasia leaned forwards and licked the tissue that Rory was holding to his face. Her eyes flashed.

"Euurgh, gross!" he said, examining it. It was the one covered in Ethan's blood. He felt a slight tremor of fear run through him. It grew worse as he felt a slight tugging on his sleeve. Turning, he saw the vampire that had registered them sucking on the fabric. Freaked out, Rory pulled away. The spot that the vampire had been focusing on was also stained red with blood. Ethan's blood. Ethan's special blood. Ethan's special super-tasty, extra-rare, really-attractive-to-vampires blood

Horrified, Rory swung his gaze back to Anastasia. "Where did you get that?" came a hoarse whisper from her ancient lips. She licked them ominously.

Rory remained silent. Her face expressionless, Anastasia stood up.

"No matter. We will find him. Then we will feast. He will be the first to fear the darkness."

After that, she turned and strode out of the room, followed by all of the others. Rory was left alone in the room, still clutching the bloodied handkerchief to his face.

This wasn't good.


	30. A Midsummer Night's Bite - Part 4

**Of friends, of hope, of all bereft**

Left alone, Rory's mind raced through his options. Apparently unaffected by the effect that Ethan's blood had had on the other vampires; it seemed that it was up to him to stop them from draining his friend.

Rory reasoned that it would take them a little while to work out whose blood it was and then get to Ethan's house, so he did have a small amount of time to work with. First, he had to warn Ethan, and then they could work on solving the problem.

Rory pulled his phone out of his pocket and went to turn it on. Nothing. Desperate, he tried again and again, before finally receiving the words: "Low Battery".

Groaning to himself, he realised that he had completely forgotten to charge it up. He tried to recall when it had run out of charge. It must have been more than two weeks ago… He felt rather guilty at the effect of his forgetfulness. He scanned the room, hoping vainly for somewhere to charge it up. It was hopeless. Not only did he have no connection, but the Council building didn't even have plugs. For all Rory knew, it wasn't even connected to the electricity supply.

So, contact was out. He could, of course, just go directly there and warn them, but by the time he did that, the vampires would probably have already surrounded them. Probably even his going to Ethan's house would alert them to the identity of the owner of the blood.

He was on his own.

What would the others do? Rory pondered that question. Benny's immediate response was magic, Sarah's was to attack. Neither of those were really viable options for Rory. Ethan's solution would be to do some research into the problem.

Rory frowned and looked about the chamber. There must be some clue as to what had affected them so strongly. His eyes lit upon the open book that Anastasia had been reading from. Perhaps that might explain he ritual, and how it might be stopped.

Walking over to it, he groaned inwardly as he saw the tiny, cramped scrawl. "It couldn't have been printed, I suppose…" he muttered to himself as he squinted at the crabbed handwriting. From the little he had seen of it, it looked to be in Anastasia's own hand. Did she _write _the ancient vampire rituals? Just how old was she, mused Rory.

He frowned as he read the various relevant parts: "… the ritual of midsummer sends the vampire into their natural state whilst their concentration remains … the process can be damaged by a strong distraction … vampires in this state will have heightened abilities … sense of smell altered … blood lust increases … possibility of fixation if a blood source is exposed …"

Rory paused at the last line. That was what had happened, then. In the extreme state where they were in a closer state to their vampire nature, the presence of Ethan's blood, dispersed when Rory sneezed (which, in turn, had removed him from the rite), had worked itself into their vampire's subconscious. Rory read further. Was there a way to remove the impulse without satisfying it?

"… Reversal is only possible if the source is drained …" (Not desirable for Ethan) "… the source is destroyed…" (Possibly even worse for Ethan) "… or if the master of the order ends the ritual."

Rory groaned. Getting Anastasia to do anything that she didn't want to do was nigh on impossible even when she wasn't pining for blood. But, difficult as it seemed, that was the only option that didn't mean the death of Ethan. He had to try.

Glancing at his watch, Rory guessed that the vampires must have worked out that it was Ethan by now. Probably Erica would be taking them to his house. Rory winced. He didn't have much time. Leaving the building, he flew faster than he'd ever done before across town to Ethan's house.

On the way, he noticed that he seemed to be flying into some low cloud, though he wasn't flying any higher than usual. It was becoming harder to see where he was going, and he was having difficulty orientating himself, but he must be nearly there by –

* * *

CRACK!

At the sound at the window, Ethan and Benny both looked up from their game in a knee-jerk reaction.

"What was _that_?" asked Ethan, getting up and heading over to the window. There was a large circular mark on the window as if something had slammed into it at high speed, although it was already fading.

"Probably just a bird, or something," said Benny, looking over Ethan's shoulder at the window. He went to sit back in front of the screen.

"Yeah… Something, anyway," murmured Ethan, trying to peer out of the window. It was really foggy, though, and he could barely see a foot out into the night, and he certainly couldn't see down to the ground. If it was a bird that had just crashed into the window, then this may well have been no bad thing.

"Come _on_, Ethan," wheedled Benny from the computer. "We're so close to finishing the game. It'll just be a stupid pigeon. The only other thing it could be is a vampire – and they're all in a meeting, remember?"

Reassured by that, Ethan joined his friend on the floor. "I guess so… Now, where were we?"

"We were about to enter the temple of Ud-Shamragoth…"

* * *

Rory sat up groggily. Ethan's house was really hard… He rubbed his head sorrowfully, and struggled to his feet. He'd landed in a flowerbed. He looked at it guiltily. It was rather squashed now. He made a half-hearted attempt to smooth over the damage, but he recognised it as a lost cause. He'd apologise tomorrow, after … after…

A new resolve gripped Rory. After he'd saved Ethan, of course.

He looked back at the house, briefly considering whether he should knock on the door and ask Benny and Sarah for help. That might not be a bad idea. After all, it was only Ethan that was in danger from the crazed vampires. It was his fault, though… Maybe he should try and fix the problem on his own. That way, his mistake wouldn't look so bad.

Rory frowned to himself. Maybe if he did this, and took on the whole Council single-handedly, then they wouldn't think that he was as useless – reliable only for getting himself captured or knocked out by whatever it was that they fighting that week. It had been getting embarrassingly regular recently, he thought, a little ashamed. So maybe he could save the day on his own. Be a hero, for once. That might even make Erica take notice, and stop her ignoring him all the time. There was, he felt, only so far that dogged devotion could go. He was still infatuated with her, but it seemed to be wearing a little thinner. Just a little recognition would be nice.

But, on the other hand… this was the _entire _Council that he was facing. _Every_ vampire in Whitechapel was against him (including Erica). Maybe he could be a hero another time, maybe a time with slightly better odds of success?

Rory made his decision, and turned to walk around to the front of the house. It was then that he realised that his choice had already been made for him.

Ethan's house was completely encircled by vampires. There was no way that Rory could alert Benny and Sarah without putting Ethan in danger, for the moment they opened the door, the vampires would get inside.

Suppressing all his fears, Rory realised that he was going to have to act alone whether he wanted to or not. Time to be brave, then.

Straightening up and squaring his shoulders, which still didn't really make him feel impressive, Rory stared defiantly at the ranks of vampires.


	31. A Midsummer Night's Bite - Part 5

**We perished, each alone:**

"It's really getting quite misty out there, Sarah," said Ethan as he and Benny came down to the kitchen for some snacks.

Sarah looked out of the big front window. "Yeah… You can't see anything except that white mist. Creepy." Ethan nodded absently and followed Benny (and the marshmallows) back upstairs.

Glancing out at the blankness, Sarah shivered, feeling a little unnerved. She got up from the table and quickly pulled the curtains shut. As she went back to reluctantly doing her biology homework, she felt a little better for having closed them.

She wouldn't have felt that way had she noticed the face pressed against the glass of the window behind her, with fangs extended and eyes glowing. Headphones plugged in and absorbed in her work, Sarah was completely oblivious.

* * *

Rory eyed the circle of vampires. There was complete silence as he looked from one to the next. The strange fog made it hard to identify them clearly, but as Rory headed to the front of the house, he did, as he had expected, find Anastasia and Erica, who were instantly recognisable – one by her meagre height, and the other, well, by being fixed in Rory's mind for the last six months.

On the front steps, Rory examined the circle. They showed no interest in him at all, not even registering his existence. Most of them had got very close to the side of the house, and, wherever there was a ground floor window, they were gazing through it. Rory couldn't understand why they all seemed to have halted just inches from their unwitting prey.

Then he realised: vampires had to be invited into a house – but that was interpreted rather loosely. For instance, an open door or window was considered an invitation – if you were that stupid then you deserved it. Ethan, though, was not stupid, and generally kept his windows closed at night if he thought there might be vampire activity. Most of the time, for Ethan and Benny, it was generally accepted that they were under the protection of Rory, Erica, and Sarah, and so normally had nothing to worry about. Rory reasoned that this night justified what he had always considered their mild paranoia. The vampire entry policy was also why _he_ couldn't be let in, as that would allow the others in.

Watching the others, Rory wondered what exactly they were waiting for. Ethan, Benny or Sarah to make a mistake and open the door? Glancing up at Erica and Anastasia, he noticed that they were both staring at him with their possessed eyes. Normally, Rory's ego would be hugely flattered to be receiving Erica's undivided attention (though, to be honest, he did get a little thrill as he realised that he had it), but tonight his fear for Ethan outweighed all his other feelings.

He realised that they were expecting _him_ to make a mistake. He felt slightly affronted at this, but soon came to the conclusion that he very nearly had exposed Ethan. He had intended to get Sarah and Benny outside, which would have let the vampires in. If he hadn't noticed the circle, then he would have walked right into their trap. If the blood-crazed vampires had only hidden themselves better… Rory shuddered to think what he might unwittingly have done.

With a gulp, he resolved to defy their expectations. He wasn't going to make a mistake. He was going to handle the situation.

He walked calmly towards Anastasia, still with no idea how to get her to end the ritual.

Well, the direct, honest approach should always be the first to try, right?

"Er, Anastasia? Would you mind ending the ritual? Please?"

Not even acknowledging him, Anastasia crooked a finger. A figure from beside her flung itself angrily at Rory, and he was hurled all the way to Ethan's fence even before he could react.

Picking himself up, Rory rashly flew back towards her, as if he was ready to attack her, and try to knock her out of the trance. His attempt at politeness was already over.

A moment later, Rory was back by the fence. Anastasia's bodyguard was just too strong for him. He was nothing if not determined, though, and so he went several more times into the fray. He was impressive in his persistence, but utterly woeful in having any measure of success. A faint smile now played on Anastasia's lips whenever Rory approached her.

After being slammed against the fence for the sixth time, Rory groaned and lay still on the ground, his eyes closed. He needed a new plan.

* * *

Sarah was startled from her work by a particularly loud crash. Taking out her earphones, she wondered where it could have come from. She was about to get up to check outside when she heard a shout from upstairs:

"Benny!"

It was followed by raucous laughter from both of the boys.

Intrigued, Sarah hurried upstairs and swung open Ethan's door.

"What are you two –"

She halted as she saw Benny sprawled on top of Ethan, the bed overturned. "Hi, Sarah!" said a red faced Ethan, who was looking slightly squashed.

Sarah raised an eyebrow. "Do I want to know?" she asked, coolly.

"Not really…" mumbled Benny.

"Oh I think so!" said Ethan decisively, shoving his friend off of his back. "Benny decided that just getting off the bed to get the snacks was too much bother than just using magic. Unfortunately, there was one from a while ago stuck underneath the bed, and when he tried to summon it, the bed flipped over."

"Oh, right…" said Sarah, grinning. "You two," she said, shaking her head. Then she became sterner. "Now, behave! Or you'll wake Jane, and then we'll have trouble."

"Yes, Miss Sarah!" the boys chorused, as if in elementary school. Sometimes, Sarah thought, it was as if they still were.

Walking downstairs to the kitchen again, still grinning to herself, she walked past a window and stopped. She looked at it again. She thought she had seen…

Nothing. It was nothing but her imagination playing tricks on her.

* * *

As Rory recovered his strength, he became aware of a pain at his arm. Checking it, he noticed a considerable graze. What had caused that? He looked about for what it could have been, before noticing the snapped off part of fence right next to him. Rubbing his sore arm, he noticed the splintered shaft of wood had a considerable point. Ouch. He was lucky not to have been impaled on it.

He stared at it. That was it! Picking it up and concealing it in his hand, he walked back towards Anastasia. Her bodyguards squared up to him, but now Rory had an idea. Taking the blood-stained tissue out of his pocket, he threw it a little distance away. The nearby vampires went crazy for it, and, in the melee, Rory managed to get Anastasia alone.

He held up the piece of wood, which was now a rudimentary stake, in front of Anastasia's eyes. It worked exactly as he'd hoped. Centuries of being a vampire had also been centuries of learning to fear the stake, and it had become an automatic reaction in Anastasia to reflexively shy away from sharp and pointed bits of wood.

As Rory watched, she jerked back violently, and her eyes returned to their normal colour. Her fangs also receded from their fully extended state. He had succeeded in breaking the trance. He now leaned in close.

"Call off the ritual," he whispered, urgently.

Anastasia looked at him with contempt. "What for? Even if it wasn't for the blood-lust, he's still got the best blood in Whitechapel."

"Because Ethan doesn't deserve to be sucked dry because of my stupid mistake! Some of his blood might be OK, but what's happening tonight would definitely kill him!"

Anastasia just shrugged.

Rory's eyes flashed with anger. He'd had enough of being brushed off and ignored. He pressed to point of his stake against Anastasia's chest.

"Alright. You want a reason? You'll call it off because I'm telling you to!" Rory snarled.

Anastasia, if it were possible, paled slightly. She mustered some defiance. "You do realise that you'll be expelled from the Council for this – an exile among vampires."

Rory merely responded by pressing slightly harder.

With a resigned gesture, Anastasia mumbled a few words. All around them, the vampires changed back into their normal forms, looking slightly confused as to why they were there. Seeing Rory with a stake at their leader's heart, they rounded on him.

"Go!" commanded Anastasia. "This will not be a problem."

A little doubtfully, they one by one took off for wherever they were hunting that night. Rory let his piece of wood slip from his hand and tumble with a clatter to the pathway. Anastasia looked at him in contempt.

"Rory Keaner, you are hereby expelled from the Vampire Council. From now on, you will no longer be accepted by any vampire."

With that, she disappeared.

Rory smiled. He was a hero! But it didn't seem quite so satisfying...

Around Rory, the mist seemed to be closing in. It was getting thicker and thicker – so thick, in fact, that he could no longer see his legs. As the mist built, he saw Erica, looking at him with a strange expression on her face – half loathing, half… pity? Then she turned and walked away from him.

As she did so, Rory felt something hard slide into his heart, and then he slipped away into the fog.

* * *

A while later, Ethan's parents returned home, and Sarah got ready to leave. Opening the door, she was surprised to find all the mist had dissipated.

She turned to say goodbye to the Morgans.

"Did anything happen here tonight, Sarah?" asked Ethan's mum.

Sarah glanced around the empty front garden. Apart from what looked like a fragment of wood just in front of the porch, it was the same as ever.

She beamed broadly at her. "No, nothing happened here tonight!"

And for once, she thought, as she wandered home through the crisp night, she had been telling the truth.


	32. Episode 6 - Fishing for Monsters

**Episode Six. Thanks to all those who have reviewed so far (further reviews readily welcomed, as usual).**

**Oh, and ambiguity is your friend. Maybe.**

* * *

Fishing for Monsters

* * *

**Below the thunders of the upper deep**

Benny kicked his heels impatiently against the panelling as he sat on Ethan's front porch. "Are we ready to go yet?" he whinged.

"Not yet, Benny!" said Ethan, a little exasperated. "Everything has to be in order."

Next to Benny, Sarah sighed. "Come on, Ethan, at this rate it'll be time to come back before we even leave…"

Looking up, Ethan frowned. "Humour me, OK?" He picked up a sheet of paper, and read down it. "Right, towels … check … Rucksack … check … Suntan lotion … check … Lunch … check … Swimming costume … check …"

"Pointlessly long list…" murmured Benny.

"Check…" said Ethan absently, before snapping his head up. "Wait… _Benny_!"

Both Benny and Sarah sniggered. "Oh, just get on with it!" groaned Sarah.

"It would be faster if you two didn't keep moaning! Now, water … check … Books … check … Sunhats … check … Goggles … check … Binoculars … check … Net … check … Rope … check … Tin foil … check …"

"Tin foil!" exclaimed Sarah, pushing herself onto her feet. "We're going to the beach, Ethan, not the moon! Now just pack it in with your stupid list!"

Ethan coloured, and looked away.

"Honestly, if I'd known that you were going to be this obsessive…"

From his position on the porch, Benny scowled. "Well, it's your fault anyway, Sarah," he said sulkily. "You're the one who insisted that we go to the beach."

"Well, what would you have done? Played video games?"

"Yeah," said Benny, looking at Sarah like she was an idiot.

"I'm not letting you waste a whole beautiful summer shut away in Ethan's room staring at a screen ten hours a day."

"Why not?" argued Benny. "It's not waste. It's what we always do!"

Sarah raised an eyebrow at him. "Yeah, I can guess."

"And what are you implying by that?" snapped Benny, jumping up to face her.

"Nothing at all, Benny, nothing at all…" she said, coolly.

Benny narrowed his eyes at her, but Ethan interposed before they could argue any further.

"Guys? Whether you like it or not, Benny, we're going to the beach."

"Just 'cause Sarah wants to…" muttered Benny sullenly.

Ignoring him, Ethan continued with what he had been saying. "I've finished packing now. There's only one thing missing. Where's Rory?"

Benny and Sarah looked at each other and shrugged. "I haven't seen him since he left with Erica last night," said Benny.

"Maybe that vampire ritual was pretty intense?" suggested Sarah. "I've not heard from Erica yet, which is unusual. Especially since she's been giving me chapter by chapter accounts of the new Dusk book as she reads it."

"Or," Benny smirked and wiggled his eyebrows, "maybe he got lucky with Erica…"

The other two stared at him as if he had gone insane. "I _really_ don't think so," said Ethan.

"Yeah…" said Benny, evenly. "More likely his little heart was crushed by yet another rejection."

"Or, being Rory, he's just forgotten," pointed out Ethan.

They nodded that was _far_ more likely. "Well, Ethan's held us up long enough," said Benny. "We can't wait for him. I'll send him a text. If he gets it, and isn't too caught up in his moping, then he'll soon join us."

"If he's remembered to charge his phone…" commented Ethan.

"Well, in that case, he's a lost cause!" exclaimed Benny, throwing his arms up in defeat.

"Alright, then, come on," said Sarah. "Let's go to the beach!"

* * *

By the time they reached the beach, Benny's mood had lightened considerably.

"Ah, Lake Ontario! The greatest of the Great Lakes."

"Actually, it's the smallest," corrected Ethan.

"Really?" asked Sarah.

"Yeah," said Ethan. "Well, by surface area, at least. By volume, Lake Erie is actually smaller."

"And you know this _how_…?" asked Sarah.

"We did a project on the Great Lakes in Geography class. Remember, Benny?"

Benny just looked at him blankly.

"I did a big fact file on all the lakes." Ethan frowned, trying to remember. "What did you do, Benny?"

"Er… Oh, I remember now! I drew a big picture of Niagara Falls and coloured it in." Benny smiled proudly.

"Right," said Ethan scornfully. "_Really_ intellectually stimulating, that."

Benny gave him a small smile. "I seem to recall getting a higher mark than you for that assignment…"

Ethan flushed. "Well, it's not all about the grade."

Benny looked shocked. "You've changed, Ethan Morgan, you've changed." He shook his head in mock disappointment.

"_Anyway_, you two, let's find a spot to set up," said Sarah, scanning Whitechapel's compact beach.

"Is it me, or is it really bust here today?" asked Ethan.

It was true. The beach was packed with people taking advantage of the sun.

"You see, Ethan, we should have left earlier," said Sarah peevishly.

"Yeah, well, we wouldn't have been prepared!" retorted Ethan.

"Look, there's a spot!" cried Benny, pointing into the middle of a crowd of people.

"No there isn't," said Sarah, bemused. It was just as busy as anywhere else on the beach.

Benny winked and muttered something. An almost imperceptible haze radiated out in a circle from the spot he had pointed at, pushing everyone slightly further out, and leaving a space just big enough for the three of them.

Shaking her head in amusement, Sarah led the way to grab the spot. Ethan unpacked the towels from his bag and they spread them out on the sand, Ethan constantly rubbing his hands to get rid of the feel of it. He really didn't like sand. He looked up at the bright blue sky. He didn't really like the sun, either. Looking back around him, he sighed to himself. This whole beach thing really wasn't his idea of a good time. Sarah seemed happy, though, and even Benny seemed to have been cheered up by the mysterious appeal of sun, sand and water. At least it wasn't salty.

Ethan squatted into the towel, immediately getting sand blasted into his eyes from a sudden gust of wind. He knew he should have brought a wind breaker. And a sunshade. Jamming his hat firmly on his head, he rooted around in his bag for his book. He would endure this for his friends, but he was going to try every means to distract himself.

Either side of him, Benny and Sarah were taking off their clothes and revealing their swimming costumes underneath. Glancing at them both, Ethan shuddered at the idea of removing his clothes in public. And then there was the sand to think of. It got everywhere! And then there was sunburn. And if that wasn't bad enough, sun cream felt horrible to put on and smelt revolting. He wrinkled his nose. Both of his friends were covering themselves in it.

He tried to bury all his senses in his book. "Come on, Ethan!" broke through Benny's voice, and he felt a tug on his t-shirt. With a start, he batted Benny's hand away. His friend grinned. "You're on the _beach_, Ethan. You can't stay covered up." With a pout, Ethan only tugged his top further down. "Oh, Ethan," said Benny, laughingly. "What are you afraid of? We do exactly the same things – you must have a body just like mine!"

Ethan's eyes flicked over Benny's body. "Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of!" he teased. His friend looked down at himself, shrugged, and then stuck his tongue out at Ethan. Sarah, who had been watching the whole thing, merely laughed.

To hide his embarrassment and unease, Ethan jammed the binoculars to his face and looked out into the lake, focusing intently on what looked like a small island a little way in the distance. Before he could get a good look at it, though, he was distracted by his friends playfully pulling his top back over his head, exposing his pale body. He struggled against them, dropping the binoculars onto the sand.

Because of this, he didn't see the apparent island disappear under the water.


	33. Fishing for Monsters - Part 2

**Far, far beneath in the abysmal sea**

It was a short while later, and Ethan had recovered his shirt, and, in part, his dignity, and had returned to reading his book. He maintained a stony silence whenever either of his friends spoke to him, which led to Benny and Sarah rather awkwardly having a conversation with Ethan in the way.

Well, that wasn't strictly true, as the conversation was almost entirely Benny talking and Sarah not responding. While this may have been the norm for almost any conversation Benny had ever had, in this case it was because the novelty of being at the beach had rapidly worn off, leaving Benny feeling rather bored. Sarah, on the other hand, was thoroughly enjoying herself in the sun, and, unbeknown to Benny, was happily listening to her MP3 player instead of him. This probably wouldn't have bothered him, though, as he was perfectly content to chatter away to himself for hours on end, as Ethan had learnt over long years.

"So, that's when I said to him – Sarah? Are you listening?" Peering around an irritable Ethan, he at last noticed that she was laying back, her eyes closed, with wires coming out of her ears. He shrugged. "May as well have a sandwich, then," he said to himself, rummaging around in the bag.

"-Anyway, mmph," he carried on, swallowing, "after I told him that there was _no way_ that _Enterprise _was better than _Next Generation_, he just refused to speak to me. And that's how I got kicked out of vertical chess club…" he mused.

He looked around, and noticed the binoculars lying on the sand. Ethan was normally so precious about them. Checking to see that his friend was still furiously reading his book, Benny quickly picked them up, as well as taking out another sandwich. Still chewing, he looked through them out into the lake. He scanned back and forth idly, occasionally spying on various people out of bored amusement.

A figure running into the water caught his notice. He focused the lenses hopefully. He was disappointed. Not so disappointed, though, that he wasn't prepared to… But, then again, no-one really compared to E–

He suddenly felt the side of his face covered in sand, and his thoughts broke off mid-word. Tearing the binoculars away, he looked to the right. From beyond Ethan, Sarah was wagging her finger at him. "What were you looking at?" she asked, sternly. "Or, rather, _who_?"

"No-one - er - I mean, nothing," he said, defensively. "I thought I saw something in the water, that's all," he lied.

"Let me see," said Sarah, suspicious, her hand outstretched. Reluctantly, he passed them over.

Sarah focused on where he'd been looking. "I see what you mean…" she said in a low voice, after a while.

Benny's head flicked around towards her. Was Sarah pulling his leg, or was she…? She couldn't be…?

"What do you mean?" he asked guardedly. She brought the binoculars down from her face, and Benny saw that she looked worried.

"There's definitely something out there, Benny.

He laughed, and took yet another sandwich out of the bag. "No there isn't. You're just joking!"

She looked at him in silence.

"OK, I admit it; I lied before about seeing something in the water!"

Sarah shook her head, slowly. "No, Benny, there really is something out there in the lake."

Frowning, he took the binoculars from her and peered through them. Out in the lake, a grey humped shape moved ominously in the water, passing across his field of vision startlingly quickly. It was quite far out, but even as he was watching, it seemed to be getting nearer to the shore.

Looking with shock and fright at Sarah, he let the binoculars fall, and prodded Ethan.

"Ethan! Ethan!"

"I'm not talking to you, Benny. I don't care," said Ethan, irritably.

"Ethan!" cried Sarah.

"No! I don't care if I'm on the beach; I am _not_ taking my clothes off. I just don't feel comfortable with it. Or anyone else doing it, for that matter. Leave me alone, both of you!"

With a frustrated grunt, Sarah wrenched Ethan's book out of his hands, revealing the sulky boy beneath. He stared up at her coldly, and then noticed her expression.

"What's wrong?" he said, suddenly concerned, sitting up.

"There's something out there in the water," said Sarah, handing him the binoculars.

"Yeah, something _big_," said Benny, his voice muffled through his fourth sandwich. As Ethan stared in horror through the lenses, Sarah looked with incredulity at Benny.

"_What?_" he said, aggrieved. "You can't fight monsters on an empty stomach!"

Sighing, Sarah, rolled her eyes, and looked back towards Ethan. "What do you think?"

Eyes wide, Ethan looked at her pointedly. "So the stories of the Lake Ontario monster are true…"

She nodded. "Looks like it."

"Er, guys?" said Benny, in a strained voice.

Not hearing him, Ethan stared around the beach. "All these people! They could all be in danger!"

"Ethan? Sarah?" came a more worried sounding call from behind them, followed by a slightly odd noise. Neither of them noticed, though.

Ethan stood up, brushing sand off of himself. "OK, well, I don't know how we're going to deal with the monster, but I do know that we need to clear the beach. Any ideas?"

"_Please_, you two?" said Benny, whose voice now sounded very panicked.

Still, they ignored him and continued to look out at the shape, now dimly visible to the naked eye, approaching them.

"Claim a shark attack…?" suggested Sarah, doubtfully. Ethan shook his head.

"Any thoughts, Benny –"

As he turned towards his friend, there was a nasty retching sound, and the next thing he saw, before rapidly twisting his head away, was Benny, bent double and being rather copiously sick. Around them, there were groans of revulsion, and nearby sunbathers started to pack up in disgust. The wave of nauseated people spread out across the entire tightly packed crowd, and, with dark looks at the three of them, the whole lot fairly rapidly dispersed.

"As ever, Benny provides…" said Ethan, in a forced light tone, and raising his eyebrows. "Are you OK, Benny? What's wrong?"

Sarah turned and wrinkled up her nose. "He's been stuffing himself with those sandwiches for a while." She looked at Ethan. "Did your mum make them?"

"No, I did!" he said, affronted. "Why?"

"Well, er, you don't exactly have the best record, do you?"

"What do you mean?"

"For starters, there was that time in Home Ec. when the entire class got food poisoning from your cake."

"That was never proved!"

"Really? Why do you think you've been moved out of the class?"

"I wasn't! I had to do the maths tutoring classes. It clashed."

"Exactly. They got you to do that instead so that you wouldn't poison the rest of the school!"

Ethan frowned, and looked rather shocked. "I was effectively _kicked out_ of Home Economics! One of the few classes that no-one _ever_ fails?"

Sarah nodded. "Yep. You were about to be the first one. The school had to stop that from happening. And, to be honest, with good reason." She twitched her head towards the incapacitated figure of Benny. "In truth, managing to muck up _sandwiches_ is rather an impressive feat, even for someone as incompetent in the kitchen as you."

"Quite a talent, then," said Ethan, with a smile. His face froze as his wrist was tightly gripped, and, with a moan, a frightful looking Benny straightened and faced him.

"I wouldn't look so pleased with yourself, Ethan," growled Benny, wiping his mouth.

Ethan quailed. "Um, er…" he squeaked. Benny looked pretty angry with him.

"Hey!" interjected Sarah. "We have bigger problems!" She pointed at the advancing monster in the lake. "You know, the huge creature? In the lake? Dangerous?"

"Yeah, OK," said Benny, scowling. He narrowed his eyes at Ethan. "But you haven't heard the last of this." Ethan's jaw twitched nervously.

A little unsteadily, Benny walked forward towards the shore of the lake. "Now, we have a monster to deal with!"


	34. Fishing for Monsters - Part 3

**Faintest sunlights flee**

The creature was still a little way out from the shore, and, as the three of them looked out, it seemed to have stopped still.

"What _exactly_ are we going to do? It's all the way out in the lake. Normally we can reach the things we're trying to fight against," said Ethan.

"I suppose I could fly out to it, but it looks quite big just for me to deal with. Also, were anyone to see me, that would be everything that we've tried to hide in Whitechapel exposed."

"Yeah, Sarah, like the giant lake monster wouldn't tip them off too," said Benny, rolling his eyes.

"Well, in fairness," said Ethan, "people kind-of believe in the monster anyway. A definite sighting would probably prove a tourist attraction."

"Maybe. The amazing flying girl would still cause a stir, though," Sarah pointed out.

Benny and Ethan both nodded. Sarah's eyes wandered over the beach, searching for a solution. Then she saw something a little way down the beach. She smiled.

"Ethan? Bring the bag. There might be something in all that junk we can use."

"What? What for? Do you know how we're going to get out there?" Ethan asked.

She pointed down the beach. "The normal way people go out in the lake – by boat!"

Benny grinned broadly, while Ethan paled.

"Oh, no. _Not_ boats."

"Why? Scared?" asked Sarah, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, er, it's just –"

"Yes, Sarah, he is," said Benny, cutting across Ethan's rambling explanation. "He hates going on boats or even being near water." He smiled wickedly and clapped Ethan on the shoulder. "So, sandwich boy, let's get sailing!"

"No! But – but – but –"

Sharing Benny's laughter, Sarah grabbed Ethan's bag and hurried after Benny as he marched Ethan down the beach.

* * *

"But it's someone else's boat!" Ethan protested, still desperately trying to convince his friends not to put him on the boat. "This is _stealing_!"

"Borrowing," said Sarah with a thin smile. "We'll bring it back, and no-one will be any the wiser."

"Uh, um, I can't be part of some kind of crime!" exclaimed Ethan, desperately. "Besides, none of us know how to sail!"

Benny cracked his knuckles. "Who needs that when we've got _magic_?"

Ethan's face fell. Then he had another idea, and he brightened up. "Well, OK, take the boat if you must, but maybe one of us should watch the beach. In case the monster comes too close."

"Yeah, good idea, Ethan," said Benny, "and why don't you do that?"

Ethan smiled with relief, but didn't notice the nod that was shared by Benny and Sarah. Without warning, they picked lifted him up by his armpits and unceremoniously dumped him, still feebly struggling, in the bottom of the boat.

"You can watch the beach from the back of the boat!" said Benny, brightly. Before Ethan had a chance to get up, Benny and Sarah heaved the little boat the short distance down the sand to the water. With an effort they pushed it into the water, and after splashing with it in the shallows for a short distance, they hopped into the front.

The change in weight distribution caused the boat to buck on the surface, and for little water to spill over the side, a fact acknowledged with a high-pitched squeal by Ethan, as he got splashed. The strangeness of the sound he made left Benny and Sarah in stitches, while Ethan went very red for expressing it so publicly.

Benny waved his hand, and the sail of the little boat billowed as they were borne along the water. The boat slipped silently through the water, the quiet only being broken by the occasional yelp or whimper from Ethan every time the boat leaned in one direction or the other, or whenever small amounts of water slopped over the sides. They approached the looming shape of the creature. As they got closer, they began to get a true appreciation of how large it really was, with its great grey hump clearly higher than the mast of their boat.

When they were within thirty metres or so, Benny waved his hand again, and the boat came to a halt. The creature appeared not to have noticed them. Dragging his eyes away from it, he looked at Sarah nervously.

"Who thought that coming out here in a tiny boat was a good idea?" he said, his voice rising in fear. Sarah gulped.

"Probably not our brightest idea ever… It's probably best not make any sudden movements or loud noises. We don't want to attract its attention yet."

"Are we there yet?" came a groan from the back of the boat. A pale, bleary eyed Ethan unsteadily shuffled towards the two of them, before raising his head to see where they were. On seeing that they were in the shadow of the monster, Ethan gave a piercing shriek, to his friends' dismay (and partial deafness). Though Benny had the presence of mind to clamp his hand over Ethan's mouth within moments of him starting the scream, it was too late.

A low rumble boomed from the grey mass, which slowly rotated in the water, spray flying off of its back. The four huge fins, easily the length of a person, created mini whirlpools as they moved, whilst the movement of the long tail sent high ripples across the usually placed surface of the lake that sent the boat rocking crazily. Rising, dripping, from the water was the massive slate coloured head of the beast, large, square and slab-sided. Its black eyes seemed to focus on the boat, and it opened its large mouth, revealing rows of needle-like teeth. The fine points mesmerised the trio, and, for a moment, the scene hung in silence, with the three of them looking up into the looming face of an ancient, merciless looking creature.

The monster then let out a deafening roar, so loud that it caused its blood red tongue to shake. The sound was strange and painful to listen to, as if all the most unpleasant sounds had been mixed together. The scrape of fingernails on a blackboard would have been a welcome relief for the three of them. Forgetting their earlier decision on keeping silent, in the realisation that there was no longer any point in keeping it, both Benny and Sarah screamed at once. Ethan joined them as soon as he had freed himself from Benny's grip.

The creature reared back, and they all prepared to be sent to the bottom of the lake. It lunged forwards, entering the water with a gigantic splash.

To their great surprise, it had entirely missed the boat, which was now bobbing about in the swell caused by the monster's departure, filled with water, while all three of them were soaking wet.

"Um, not that I'm complaining, or anything," started Benny, tentatively, shaking his drenched hair out of his eyes, "but why aren't we dead?"

Ethan opened his mouth to give some kind of theory, before he saw the water begin to bubble around them, as if it was boiling. To his horror, he realised what was happening.

"It's - !"

Ethan never finished his warning, as the three of them were flung up into the air by the force of the accelerating monster erupting from the water directly underneath the boat.


	35. Fishing for Monsters - Part 4

**Once by men and angels to be seen**

Ethan was catapulted vertically into the air, brushing past the flapping sail, and then far above it as the boat skewed to one side. He twisted around desperately in the air, and saw the gaping mouth of the monster below him. His upward velocity spent, he dropped down towards it, his own mouth open in terror. He closed his eyes, anticipating the teeth stabbing into his soft body. He could feel the warmth of the creature's breath on the soles of his feet.

After everything he'd survived, was this it? Swallowed on a day trip to the beach?

Something thumped into his side, and he was knocked to the side, landing in the water with a smack. Opening his eyes, he found himself looking straight into Sarah's. She had her arms wrapped protectively around him.

"Did you…?" he asked.

She smiled. "Being able to fly does have its uses. That was a close run thing, though."

Ethan nodded gratefully, and then realised that he was in the water. Panic set in, and he started to flail about, tugging free of Sarah and swallowing water in the process.

"Ethan! Calm down!"

Spouting water, Ethan garbled a panicked response. "There's a monster with huge teeth – not to mention anything else which might be in the lake! This lake is over 80 metres deep! And –" (even while in serious danger of going under the water, Ethan couldn't help flushing with embarrassment) "– I can't swim! I don't think that there's much to be calm _about_, do you?"

With a sigh, and acting quickly to try and snap Ethan back to his senses, Sarah put her arms around his chest and lifted him out of the water into the air. Floating a few feet above the water, Ethan spat out water while kicking his legs feebly.

"Ethan. Everything is going to be OK. Just stop panicking. And remember to keep quiet."

Taking deep, slow breaths, Ethan gradually returned to normal, though he occasionally coughed up a little more water. "Thanks, Sarah," he whispered. He looked around. The monster was near the capsized boat, but seemed to have returned to its previously calm and unresponsive state. "Where's Benny?" he asked, worried.

Sarah flew towards the stricken boat, and they both scanned the area of the attack. Nothing. There wasn't a sign of him anywhere. Ethan began to fear the worst, and his throat started to thicken up. "B-Benny?" he mumbled into the indifferent air, stricken.

Just as Ethan lost hope, Sarah spotted an arm grab onto something on the underside of the tipped over boat. She grinned with relief and flew lower. With a cascade of water, the mast and sail rose from the water, twanging past them. Below, Benny hauled himself over the side of the boat and lay still for a while, panting from the unaccustomed effort. Looking up, he saw the pair of them and, incongruously, gave them a small wave from the bottom of the boat.

"You two look rather … intimate up there," he called. With an angry gesture at him to get him to keep quiet, Sarah dropped onto the boat, releasing a by now rather embarrassed Ethan. Benny just smiled with amusement as the pair of them gradually shifted further and further apart in the boat, with even Ethan's fear of sailing taking second place to it.

Glancing up at the apparently oblivious bulk of the monster, Benny leaned forwards. "OK, so, now we know not to attract its attention. What are we going to do about it? I mean, I tried some magic when it attacked, but it didn't have any effect. There's too much of it for the magic to work on. Maybe grandma would know what to do, but I don't."

Sarah looked at the creature nervously. "It's far too large for us to deal with from the boat. We were lucky this time, but next time…"

Ethan nodded, and looked at his feet and legs, imagining how close they had been to being shredded. He shuddered. This was not turning into the best day at the beach. Trying to take his mind off of the motion of the boat, he focused his eyes firmly on the bottom of the boat. Then he saw something that he had forgotten about – the bag.

Picking it up, he shook the sodden rucksack at his friends. "Maybe there's something in here that we can use? It's lucky that it didn't get washed out of the boat."

Sarah and Benny looked at it dubiously. "I don't know what there could be…" said Benny, sceptical.

Sarah shrugged. "Well, you did put enough junk in it, Ethan. Who knows, something might be useful."

Ethan opened it up. "A-ha!" He produced the crabbing net and showed it proudly to them.

"Er, yes? What about it?" asked Sarah.

"We can use it to trap the monster!" said Ethan, eagerly.

Benny put a sympathetic hand on Ethan's shoulder, and spoke to him in a kindly tone, as if to a child. "I'm sorry to have to break it to you, as I know you've had quite a shock, Ethan, and that might have messed up your spatial awareness, but that net is about the size of my hand, and the monster is many, _many_ times larger than this _boat_."

Ethan gave him a withering look. "Yes, Benny, I understand that. Would it be possible to make it bigger, say, using _magic_?"

"Oh, I see what you mean!" said Benny with a grin.

Ethan looked at him hopefully. "Can you make it bigger?"

"No."

Ethan looked downcast. "Why not?"

"Because I can do magic, not work miracles. Making that net bigger falls into the latter camp."

"Why?" interjected Sarah. "I mean, in _Harry_ _Potter_ –"

Benny held up his hand in scorn, and shook his head. "Ah, Sarah, there you are once again confusing _Harry Potter_ and _real magic_. They are not the same thing."

Seeing their blank expressions, he continued in a slow, patronising voice. "OK, well, Harry Potter is a _character_ in a _book_ which is a work of _fiction _–"

"Yes, Benny," snapped Sarah, "we know what books are – what we want to know is why it isn't possible for you to just magic the net bigger."

With an exasperated cry, Benny stood up and looked down at them, astonished. "Have neither of you _ever_ been paying attention at _any_ point when I've used _magic?_" He frowned briefly. "Sorry, that last emphasis didn't make any sense. But the point still stands!"

Ethan opened his mouth to volunteer the information that they usually had more pressing things to focus on at those times, but Benny just blazed on.

"When have I _ever_ used magic to make something bigger? Never! Have you not noticed that magic is about potions? Almost always, things come from potions!" By now, Benny's temper was truly frayed, and he was apparently venting his frustration with the entire framework of magic at them.

"Whenever something has to be made bigger, I don't just snap my fingers, like _Harry Potter_ might do, I make a potion – or do you not remember?"

"Er, Benny?" quavered Ethan.

Benny ignored him, and started to pace, gesturing more and more violently. "That's all I learn, all day! 'Make this', 'boil that', 'cut out the eye from that'. Magic is nowhere near as cool as most people think it is!"

"Benny?" said Sarah, her eyes fixed on something behind him.

"Not now, Sarah, I'm having a rant!" he growled. "All the flashes and lightning – they're just gimmicks around the edges, apparently! So what if I can blow up a spider, I can't do anything useful with it. People expect too much of magic. It's all just these stupid potions." Anger spent, he started to trail off and ramble. "I bet _Harry Potter_ wouldn't have a clue…" he muttered.

"Benny!" said Ethan, with some determination.

"What?" he snapped, irritably. He followed the direction of their wide eyed stares, and looked over his shoulder. He paled.

"Oops… Not again!"

The three of them stared up at the gigantic head once more.

In a desperate attempt to stop the creature biting Benny's head off, Ethan thrust his hand into the bag and pulled out the first thing he put his hand on. Sunlight flashed off of the sheet of tinfoil, and that attracted the monster. Ethan rapidly realised that this meant that instead of eating Benny, it was now fixed on eating him instead. He gulped. That had been rather foolish. But if he was to be in danger rather than Benny, then it was OK. Mostly. Increasingly_ less_ willing. In fact…

It was not, however, the head that they had to worry about, as, quite suddenly, the huge tail, swung around from behind them, scything through the mast and knocking all of them into the water. As he fell, Benny unleashed a particularly potent arc of magic, which stung the creature into letting out a roar, and diving to the bottom of the lake.

Ethan clung tightly to the broken-off mast, dazed from when the scaly tail had struck him, and with his eyes clamped shut, but with the strangest feeling running through his head.

"Swim… Fish… Sore…" he muttered incoherently, as the bright blue light in his head was replaced with black.


	36. Fishing for Monsters - Part 5

**In roaring he shall rise**

"Ethan … Ethan …?"

Ethan blinked awake, spluttering water from his throat. He was in somebody's arms again, and pressed so closely against them that he could feel the warmth of their body. Dazzled by the shaft of light blasting into his pounding head, he saw a blurry shape a few inches above him.

"Sarah?" he croaked. "Is that you?"

"Afraid not, Ethan," came a familiar voice, which soon attached itself to the familiar face of Benny looking down at him with clear relief etched on his face. "We take it in turns to save you, you see. It's too big a job for one person. We need a rota!" Ethan gazed up at him, seeing that the dopey grin was masking a more powerful emotion. He decided that it was probably best if he didn't dwell on how close he may or may not have come to drowning.

"Where am I?" he asked.

"Back on the boat - it's pretty resilient! We are without a mast, though," said Sarah, from a short distance away. Ethan smiled gratefully to know that she was OK. He sat up slowly, and then looked around with concern.

"The monster. Where is it?"

"Benny scared it off with some magic. It resurfaced about a hundred metres away. It's lost interest in us again."

Ethan twisted to look, but found something stopping him. He looked down, and went rather pink.

"Er, Benny?"

"Yeah?"

"You know how it was awkward when Sarah was holding tightly onto me?"

"Mmm?"

"Well, strange as it may seem, you still sitting with your arms wrapped around me when I'm clearly fine is even more awkward."

Benny flushed, and quickly unhooked his arms. "Sorry…" he mumbled. Sarah looked on with wry amusement, before coming to her senses with a little shake.

"Guys! Lake monster! Again! Why do we always lose focus on the bigger problem?"

Benny nodded. "OK, so we need a new plan to defeat this thing. Again. Well, third time lucky, I guess."

"It's not like we've actually tried anything yet. We just attract its attention and then it tries to kill us."

Ethan frowned as Sarah said this. "Does it?"

"What?" said Sarah, turning towards him, looking confused.

"_Does_ it try to kill us?"

The other two looked at him, baffled. "Have you missed the times that you've been thrown out of the boat…?" said Benny.

Ethan shook his head. "Yeah, I _know_ that it's attacked the boat, but after that it's always backed off, or just gone back to a resting state. If it wanted to catch and eat us, it could have done that by now. We've all been in the water twice, and it's ignored us."

"So, even though it attacks us, it doesn't want to _kill_ us, merely to make us go away?" said Benny, cautiously pondering Ethan's theory.

"I don't buy it…" commented Sarah, a sceptical expression on her face.

"There's something else, too," said Ethan, his eyes becoming unfocused. "It's confused and in pain." He suddenly blinked and returned to normal.

"How did I know that?" he said, in a worried tone.

"I was just about to ask you that…" said Benny, eyeing his friend.

Ethan frowned. "I don't know why, but I've just got this impression at the back of my mind. Also … fish…"

The other two looked at him as if he had gone crazy. "Fish?" said Sarah. "What makes you say that?"

"I don't know! I just got this feeling of, well, fish."

"When did you get this?" asked Benny, his eyes narrowing.

"I don't remember…" said Ethan, his expression vacant. "But… But before I went unconscious, I think."

Benny looked at him for a long time, and then his eyes widened in realisation. He put a hand to the side of Ethan's face, where there was a red mark. It was slightly bumpy, as if it had been struck by something covered in tiny scales.

"Did you touch any part of the creature the last time it attacked?"

"Um, yeah, I think the end of the tail caught me in the face, just where your hand is. Why?"

"I think," said Benny, working it out as he said it, "I think that your powers as a Seer allowed you to at least access the feelings of the creature."

"You mean I know what it was thinking?" asked Ethan, amazed.

"Perhaps not anything as complex as knowing its actual thoughts, but the general gist of them? Yeah, I think it's possible. Grandma said that that's one of the developments I should look out for in you, as a Seer."

"Oh." Ethan was stunned. "Anything else you think I might be able to do?"

Benny shook his head. "I couldn't tell you, Ethan. You have to develop them without outside help, or they won't work properly for you. It's like how anyone can put the ingredients into a potion, or say the words of a spell, but it doesn't work for most people. It's the same with your powers."

Ethan stared at his hands with an expression of awe mixed with fear.

"Interesting as Dr Dolittle's new skill is, we still need a new plan, "said Sarah, impatient. "Although our friendly local lake monster may not want to kill us, it's still hugely disruptive, and could still be dangerous."

Ethan straightened. "I've got an idea, then."

The other two looked at him. "Well, explain, then…" prompted Benny after Ethan lapsed into silence.

"You're not going to like it much," warned Ethan.

Sarah and Benny just shrugged. "We're sort of resigned to that with most of your plans," commented Sarah.

"OK, so, what we need to do is attract the creature –"

"You're right, Ethan, it's a stupid plan, let's think of something else!" said Benny hurriedly.

Ethan carried on. "We attract the creature, and then, when we get close enough for me to touch it, I see if I can talk to it, and see what it wants. Maybe we don't have to destroy it. Maybe we can _help _it."

Sarah and Benny still looked doubtful. "What if you're wrong? What if all it wants to do is kill and maim?" asked Benny.

Ethan raised his hands. "Then I'm wrong, and, as punishment, I get to be its first victim. But I know that I can't let it be destroyed by whatever means we eventually work out without _trying_ to talk to it."

Sarah looked at him for a long while. "OK. We'll give it a go. But, Benny, try and think of a massive spell, just in case."

"So, attracting it," said Ethan. "The bag is still here, and there's still some tin foil. It likes that. Also, we need to make some noise!"

Benny nodded. "Is that net around? We can put foil on it. Give a greater height. Then we can wave it about."

Sarah rolled her eyes in despair, but joined in anyway.

"This could turn out to be a _very _bad idea…"


	37. Fishing for Monsters - Part 6

**And on the surface die**

With much shouting, waving of foil, jumping up and down, and, in all, doing everything they could think of to attract the creature, it was still with some trepidation that the three of them watched the great grey bulk silently approach them.

"I'm beginning to regret the wisdom of agreeing with you, Ethan…" whispered Benny, nervously. In reply, Ethan only responded with a frightened glance at his friend. From his position just behind Ethan, Benny could see the rapid pulse in the blood vessel at his neck, and, as he leaned a little further forwards, he could hear his friend's heart pounding. He almost wanted to reach out and place a hand on Ethan's chest to feel the thump, but then he realised just how odd that would seem. He made do with listening to the rush of blood pumping through his own body. Glancing at Sarah, he saw that she, too, was fixated on the throbbing artery. That probably wasn't a good sign…

Noticing Benny watching her, Sarah suddenly shook herself and, ashamed at what she'd been drawn to, and tried to distract herself from Ethan, who remained oblivious to the actions of his friends behind him.

She didn't have long to wait, though, as the shadow of the creature fell across the little boat for the third time that afternoon. It raised its hideous head again, and stared once more at the three of them.

"Now what, Ethan?" whispered Benny.

Ethan, shaking a little, put his hand out towards the beast.

"You might have to lean out a bit, Ethan," said Benny, with some urgency in his voice.

Ethan inched forwards along the prow of the boat, screwing up his eyes as he saw the water below. He stretched his arm, and then the boat tilted, almost imperceptibly, enough to trigger Ethan's fear, and sending him scuttling back to the middle, and stability.

"It's not close enough!" he insisted.

Gazing up at the dripping shape, which now opened its mouth, revealing the darkness of its throat, Sarah made a rapid calculation. Before Ethan could say a word, she lifted him off his feet and flung him bodily at the monster.

As Ethan flew, yelling in fright, at the creature, Benny stared in horror at Sarah. "What did you do that for? Are you _crazy_? He'll be killed for certain?"

Sarah silently pointed at the monster. Benny turned, and his mouth dropped open.

Ethan was clinging, upside down, to the creature's neck, his eyes shining like they did when he was having a vision. Apart from the vice-like grip of his arms, the rest of his body was entirely limp, resulting in his hair dangling into the water. It was hard to see, but Ethan's mouth was moving, forming silent words. Looking up at the monster, it had closed its mouth, and was now looking at Ethan with a look that was no longer ferocious, but curious.

"Ethan?" called out Benny.

"Shh!" hissed Sarah. "If he breaks concentration now, he'll probably fall in!"

Benny reddened. "Didn't think of that. I wonder what's happening between the two of them…?"

* * *

Blue. Lots blue. That was Ethan's first impression when he touched the creature. He had no idea why Sarah had just picked him up and thrown him, but it had worked. Aside from this feeling of blue, though, there was nothing else he was aware of. He essayed a tentative question.

_Hello? Can you hear me?_

The impression in his mind flickered a little brighter. He would take that as a 'yes', then.

_Can you talk to me?_

The blue darkened slightly. A 'no'? Ethan supposed so.

_What are you thinking about?_

Images of fish crossed Ethan's mind. Then he saw the three of them and the boat. Then fish again. Then the three again. Fish once more.

_You think that we're a type of fish?_

A lighter flicker, followed by a pause, and then a darker flash. Apparently, the creature wasn't sure. Ethan then got a picture of Benny. Then the lights seemed to flash a variety of blinding colours.

_He hurt you? It wasn't on purpose. We were just trying to stop you from eating us. You see, we're not a type of fish. We don't like being eaten. Not that fish like being eaten, I guess._

There was another confused flash. Ethan got the feeling that there was something he hadn't grasped.

_You don't want to eat us?_

Light blue. Well, that was some reassurance.

_What is it that you want?_

Ethan got a picture of a series of underwater caves, framed with towers of weeds and underwater plants. Then the confused flare again.

_Is that where you live? Have you got lost?_

He waited for the confirmation, and then asked his next question.

_How did you get lost?_

He received images a large boat shape, spreading weighted nets down, trapping the creature. He relived the struggle to tear free of the nets and get out of the way. He experienced the memory of surfacing after a long time underwater, and seeing the beach. Rather oddly, he could see himself on the beach, and he realised that this had all taken place very recently.

_Can you get back?_

There was a pause, and then a lighter blue.

_Good. Er… Why don't you?_

Ethan got an impression of fear, and he understood. Fear was, after all, something that he was very familiar with.

_You think you might be trapped again? Don't worry, I think my friends might be able to help you with that._

A huge rush of gratitude enveloped him, which was so strong that it woke Ethan from his psychic link.

* * *

Ethan jerked awake, and, seeing that he was almost in the water, gave a shriek of fright. Before he could lose his grip and fall in, however, the creature gently picked him up with its teeth and deposited him on its back. Very nervous, Ethan tried to grab onto something.

Thinking quickly, Benny rummaged in Ethan's bag and pulled out the length of rope that Ethan had, quite bizarrely, stowed away in there that morning. "Everything does have a use," he said to himself, raising his eyebrows. He threw it to Ethan, who, understanding immediately, looped it under the creature's neck, and then held onto it, all the while trying desperately not to remember where he was sitting.

"Everything sorted, Ethan?" called Sarah.

"I think so," replied Ethan. "It was scared away from its home by some fishing. It's too afraid to go back, and has just been confused ever since. We need to take it back, and then protect it. Is there a spell that might work?"

Benny frowned. "Maybe. I'll think about it on the way. Do you want to get back in the boat, or are you fine riding on the back of the monster?"

Ethan looked down, and closed his eyes, shuddering. "The boat, I thi –"

With that, the creature rocketed away through the water. Benny muttered a spell, and the boat followed.

"Poor Ethan…" said Sarah.

"Hey, he can talk to _animals_!" exclaimed Benny. "That's pretty cool."

"Would you really want to ride that thing?" asked Sarah.

Benny made a face.

"Exactly," said Sarah. "Not to mention the fact that Ethan can't swim, and is terrified of the water."

"Yeah. You know, I think I'm actually cool with being me at the moment."

"Who would have you any other way, Benny," said Sarah, with a smirk, looking out after the monster.

* * *

A little while later, the creature stopped, and the boat bobbed up alongside it.

"Ethan?" shouted Benny. "We're here!"

Ethan was slumped on the neck of the monster, looking very pale and with his eyes clamped tightly shut.

"Good… Now could someone please help me off? My body seems to be, well, broken."

Sarah went to free Ethan, while Benny looked up at the creature. He blushed.

"Sorry about hurting you earlier. I hope this will make it up to you. What I'm going to do is cast a spell over this area. Whenever anyone comes near here, they'll just turn their boat around and not come back. They won't know why, but they won't question it. You'll be safe here, and you'll be able to live in peace. OK?"

The creature seemed to nod. Benny beamed, and then said the spell, waving his arms in a circle. A pale band of light spread around them, shone briefly, and then dissolved into the water. As a result, the boat began to slide back towards the shore.

"Not bad, Benny," said Ethan, looking over his shoulder with a tired smile. "I bet only you could do a spell like that."

Benny blushed. "Well, er, I guess..." He grinned and looked embarrassed. "Yeah."

Ethan smiled fondly at him. "You may not be Harry Potter, but you're our wizard!" Sarah nodded in agreement, and put her arms around the two of them. He turned to the creature and waved goodbye.

"Keep safe!" he called. The creature roared in reply, and then dived into the water.

"You know, we should have given it a name…" mused Benny, as they headed back towards the beach.

"Like what?" asked Sarah.

Benny shrugged. "I don't know. Brian?"

"_Brian?_" exclaimed Sarah and Ethan in unison.

"Yeah, why not?" replied Benny, crossing his arms defiantly.

"It's just…" Ethan sighed. "As good a name as any, I suppose."

Laughing, they watched the shore lazily approach.

"Can this go any faster?" asked Ethan.

"There's no rush," replied Benny.

"Well… the adrenaline is starting to wear off, and the water is starting to scare me again," replied Ethan.

"Even after all that? If this was a story, you'd have confronted and overcome your fears. That would have been the moral to take home."

"Well," replied Ethan, irritably, his voice rising in pitch, "as Benny pointed out in an earlier outburst, this is _real life_, and as such, I'm not just going to get over my fear of water. Funnily enough, riding a monster at high speed is_ not_ an effective cure!"

Benny gave a resigned sigh. "Fine." He snapped his fingers, and the boat suddenly accelerated, hurtling towards the beach.

"Benny! Slow down!" shouted Sarah. Realising his mistake, Benny started a counter-charm, but by then it was too late. The boat slammed into the beach, hurling them onto the sand.

Picking themselves up, they found that they were at the very place where they had left their towels. As Ethan turned to pick his up, Sarah let out a scream of revulsion. He spun around.

"What? What?"

"Ethan…" started Sarah, "you know how we, uh, well, _Benny_, cleared the beach earlier."

"Yeah…" said Ethan, cautiously.

"Well…"

Ethan paled. "Did I just… I wondered why the sand was so… squelchy… Euurghh…" At that point, the mounting horror in his brain annihilated all ability to create speech, and he just dissolved into gurgles.

Benny screwed up his face and gingerly removed the stained t-shirt.

The immediate disgusting problem gone, Ethan returned to normal, and looked for a towel to cover himself up.

It was gone.

He turned to see Benny smiling at him, and holding the towel up thoughtfully.

"Benny… Give me the towel!"

Benny smirked and said nothing.

Ethan stepped forward. "I can't go home like this!" He gestured to his bare torso. "It would be humiliating!"

Benny rolled up the towel and put it in the bag, along with the stinking t-shirt. "I said I'd get you back for the sandwiches." He grinned wickedly and pulled on his own t-shirt.

"Come on, Ethan. Let's go home."

Eyes wide with shock, and almost paralytic with embarrassment, Ethan had to be practically pushed all the way home, his upper half on full display to all of Whitechapel.

Or rather, it would have been, had the mist not come down and swallowed up all three of them.


	38. Episode 7 - Going Down

**Episode Seven. This one is a little more convoluted, symbolic, and, well, in all honesty, pretentious. Don't forget to tell me what you think!**

* * *

**Going Down...**

* * *

**Abandon all hope, ye who enter here**

Hot. So really very hot.

But, strangely, only on the right hand side of his body. The left hand side was pleasantly cool. Benny pondered this odd observation as he stirred from sleep. He must have left the curtains open, and the warmth of the summer sun was now heating his room. It was irritating, he thought, as he'd been having a really good dream. He shifted his head, as he dozed. Well, maybe it wasn't so hot that he couldn't go back to dreaming about –

With a yell of pain, he twisted away to the left clutching at his scalded head. The second that he had lain it down a little to the right, it had felt as if it was on fire. Suddenly awake, he saw, to his shock, that he wasn't in his room at all. Lying on his side, all he could see was a dark forest, which seemed to radiate cold. Disorientated, Benny felt the warmth on his back. He turned over, and his mouth dropped open.

Just inches from him lay the start of an enormous desert of red sand. It was as if it was on fire. Benny put a hand towards it, and then recoiled from the heat. This was bizarre – and rather disturbing.

Benny looked directly above him, and, were it possible, was even more astonished by what he saw. He seemed to be in an enormous cavern, with its roof so high that it had disappeared into darkness. He could see part of stepped walls of a dull red stone, towering upwards and bending away, out of sight.

Where was he?

He sat up. There was some comfort. At his feet was Ethan, who, it seemed, had slept through Benny's cry of pain. Well, that was typical, Benny thought. He tapped his friend on the head with his foot – his foot clad in a black boot, which he didn't recognise at all. In fact, now that he examined the rest of him, he didn't recognise any of these clothes. All were black, and all were made of an odd, loose flannel. A perfect uniform of the stuff. As Ethan came around, Benny saw that he, too, was dressed in exactly the same clothes.

Like Benny, Ethan first took in the ominous forest on their left, the ferocious desert to their right, the terrifyingly vast cavern above them, and then, finally looked around to see Benny.

Tilting his head to one side, he stared blearily at him. "Is this a dream?"

Benny shrugged. "I don't think so."

Ethan nodded vacantly. "It's not the same as usual…" he murmured to himself, still looking at Benny with a queer expression on his face. "Why is your hair on fire?" he asked, frowning.

"It is?" exclaimed Benny, batting at it with his hand. "I wondered why I could smell burning!"

"Here, rub some sand into it!" said Ethan, digging his fingers into the sand before Benny had time to warn him. With a scream, he scrambled away from the sand, shoving his scalded fingers into his mouth, his eyes watering in pain.

"Yeah. Sand: hot," said Benny. "I _was_ going to warn you…"

Rolling his eyes, Ethan waited for his fingers to cool down. When they had, he looked around him.

"OK, now I'm definitely awake, and I'm pretty sure that this isn't a dream. Where do you think we are? This place is seriously weird."

"I don't know. It's strange, though…" Benny trailed off, and Ethan looked at him, curious.

"Go on…?" he prompted.

"Well, uh, it's like I feel I should know where we are. Like unconsciously."

Ethan's eyes narrowed. "Did you do this?"

Benny pouted. "You immediately assume that it's _me?"_ He thought briefly, and then blushed. "Actually, I don't blame you. Looking back on the last eight months, it usually _is_ my fault." Benny frowned. "I'm absolutely sure that this is not me, though. I wouldn't know how."

Ethan nodded. "Yeah. This does seem a _bit_ beyond you. I know what you mean, though. It's like this place is in our cultural psyche."

Benny's eyes widened as he remembered some theory he'd read on the internet. "Or…" he said, looking around nervously, "our collective unconscious…?"

Ethan frowned at him, unaware about what Benny was talking (and, in fact, unaware that Benny knew such long words…). Benny, on the other hand, was staring at his surroundings with a look of disbelief, mingled with one of sheer terror.

"I think we're in Hell, Ethan."

* * *

Sarah opened her eyes to see grey everywhere. The entirety of the vast space in which she stood was a bland, drab grey. Looking down at herself, she saw that she was also in grey, wearing a pale smock that almost blended in with the surroundings. In identical clothes just ahead of her were what looked like thousands of people. This must have been a dream, though, as they all seemed to have no distinguishing features, and just merge into each other.

She called out to the nearest one. They didn't even stir. She walked across to them, and tugged on their sleeve. "_Hello?_ Did you hear me?" She looked into their face, and backed away in shock. It was almost entirely smooth, except for where its mouth would have been, where there was instead just a slit with a pair of fangs hanging out. Around its neck, there was a thin red line, as if they had been decapitated and the head had not been replaced properly on the neck. Gingerly, she touched the smooth neck. The head fell off, and rolled away amongst the silent shifting of grey robes, leaving the body still standing, as motionless as before. Sarah scuttled backwards in horror. This was no dream – it was a nightmare! Or worse, could it be _real_?

There was a long squeal of a creaking hinge, and then the sound of metal clanging together behind her. Startled, Sarah spun around. An enormous gate, of some strange and twisted metal, stood out starkly against the indeterminate colouring of the surroundings. Through it was the only change of colour she had seen, and this was a stony pathway, ringed with thorns, which led up and away to somewhere that Sarah couldn't see. Above the gate, written in an uncertain colour, were a series of words. She couldn't read them, though, as they were facing outwards.

She reached for the bars of the gate, hoping to push it open and go through, but, as she did so, the black bars seemed to close in on her, filling her vision and clamping, if it were possible, across her mind. In fright, she turned away again and screamed at what she saw.

The cage that had seemed to close about her had vanished, but as she spun around, she had come face to face with something worse. There was a person standing directly in front of her. It was dressed exactly as she was – with the notable exception of a wooden spike sticking out of its chest, black blood caking around it. Its hands rested by its side, wrists and palms black as if it had tried to stem the bleeding. There were flecks and smears of the black blood on its familiar face as well.

The pale and bloodied figure smiled at her.

"Hello, Sarah," said Rory.


	39. Going Down - Part 2

**Here you must leave all hesitation**

"Rory?" breathed Sarah, agog. "What? – How? – Why?"

"I'm dead, Sarah," he said, simply. Then he beamed in his customary fashion. "But you've come to save me! And I bet Ethan and Benny and Erica have come too!"

Sarah remained in stunned silence, which gradually wore down Rory's grin and cheerful expression.

"You _are_ here to save me, right?"

"Uh… Where exactly _is_ here?" asked Sarah.

Rory looked around. He smiled. "Hell, of course!"

* * *

"Benny, how can we be in Hell? It doesn't even exist." Ethan was now pacing up and down, frowning deeply.

"What, like vampires, werewolves and zombies don't exist?" retorted Benny.

"Yeah – but _Hell_? That's like proof of an entire belief system!"

"Well, it might not mean that. It could just be that this is where all the ideas of Hell in different religions come from. Maybe this is where all evil comes from."

Ethan looked at him, mouth wide open. "Thanks, Benny, that's really reassuring."

"Not a problem… Hey, wait a minute..." Benny jumped up, looking confused.

Ethan sighed. Was he the only one who understood sarcasm? "_Anyway_, this isn't how I expected Hell to be like. There are no demons, and no pit of fire."

"You'd prefer there to be demons?" asked Benny, incredulously. "And we seem to be doing OK on the fire front," he said, gesturing to his burnt hair and Ethan's roasted fingers. "No, this place reminds me of something." He looked around. "It's something to do with the design. It's like a video game I played once... or maybe a book…" He frowned, trying to remember. "Whatever. This is definitely a representation of Hell, though."

"I think I know what you're talking about now. Hell has different layers, right?"

Benny nodded. "By the look of this place, it's circular."

Ethan nodded. "And we're definitely underground, so we need to try and head up to the surface."

"Yeah, I guess. It's hard to tell, but I'd guess that we were about halfway down."

"It's weird that there's no one here. If this was Hell, wouldn't there be some torturing going on?" Ethan asked.

"Well, I'm cool with there not being any, especially since no-one is torturing me."

Ethan shrugged. "Yeah… So, which way do you think the wall is? Through the forest?"

"You mean that dark forest, which seems to radiate fear, and which just looking at creeps me out?"

"That's the one."

"This is Hell, I suppose. Most likely getting out isn't going to be easy…" They set off into the silent wood, keeping very close to each other.

* * *

"_Hell_?" said Sarah, not believing him. "How can this be Hell? Where are the pitchforks, the fire, the brimstone? And, most of all, why are you here? Why am I here? And – how did you die, Rory?"

After babbling all that out, Sarah looked wildly about her.

Rory smiled dopily. "I should think that the last question is obvious…" He gestured to the stake in his heart.

"Yeah…" said Sarah, trying not to look at it. "Who did that to you? And when?"

"I don't know!" exclaimed Rory. "It was just after I took on the Vampire Council –"

"_What!_"

"Well, er, when I went to that Mid-Year gathering thing, I accidentally had some of Ethan's blood on me. It sort-of sent them all crazy with blood lust. I stopped them from getting to Ethan, but then the mist got really, really thick, and then, all of a sudden, I got staked!"

"You were staked two days ago?" asked Sarah.

"Yeah… Didn't you notice?" said Rory, shocked.

Sarah looked guilty. "No… We thought you'd just forgotten to turn up to go to the beach…"

Rory frowned. "I was in _Hell_, and you went to the _beach_?"

Sarah held up her hands. "We didn't know! If we did we'd have been right on trying to save you! You know that we would have been!"

Rory looked hurt, but he nodded slowly, accepting what she said. "Well, you're here now. But if you didn't come to save me, why are you here? You're definitely not dead."

"Well, that's a relief," she said, drily. "I don't remember how I got here. We were walking back to Ethan's house after taking care of a monster in the lake –"

"You met the Lake Ontario Monster?" said Rory, awed.

Sarah nodded. "Yep. All forty-odd feet of it. Turns out Ethan can talk to animals."

"Cool!"

"Ethan wasn't so sure…"

Rory's eyes widened as he understood "Oh, yeah – Ethan and water don't really mix. Do you know that he won't even have baths, he's that frightened of drowning?"

Sarah raised her eyebrows. "Really? Wow. Well, anyway, we sorted the problem and got back to shore. Once there, Benny got his revenge on Ethan for making him sick."

"Did Ethan make sandwiches?"

Sarah looked at him, surprised. "How did you know?"

"I know Ethan. _ I_ wouldn't eat his cooking, and I eat _rats._"

"Yeah, well, Benny did, and, er, it didn't end well for him."

Rory winced. "Eww. So then what happened?"

"When we got back to shore, we were all flung out of the boat and Ethan, well, um, Ethan –"

"Landed in it?" supplied Rory, screwing up his face in disgust.

"Yeah… It completely covered his t-shirt, and he had to take it off. _Then_ Benny wouldn't give him his towel to cover up with, and made him walk home like that."

"Ethan must have been mortified!" said Rory, barely masking his glee.

Sarah smiled. "Well, it was kind of funny… But before we even left the beach, it got really misty. I don't remember walking through Whitechapel, and the next thing I know, I wake up here."

"Weird."

"Weirder than normal, which is saying something."

Rory nodded and looked thoughtful. "So, if Ethan and Benny were with you in the mist, then they might be here too."

Sarah nodded and looked around. "I hope so! But where?"

* * *

"This wood is really, _really_ creepy," whimpered Benny. "The trees are so _pale_."

Ethan nodded. "I've never seen anything like them before. And there are so many tiny branches to avoid. It'll take ages to get through these woods."

Benny sighed. "Well, of course it will if you play at protecting every single twig! We're trying to get out of _Hell_, Ethan; we're not on a forestry protection course!" With that, Benny gave Ethan a shove sending him stumbling forwards, breaking off part of one of the silvery trees in the process.

A shrill scream filled the air, and from the stump of the twig welled a tiny drop of scarlet blood, which ran down the trunk of the tree to be lost in the darkness of the forest floor, leaving a red streak on the previously pristine bark.

Eventually, the shriek stopped, and the boys peeled their hands away from their ears. The red stain seemed to look at them accusingly.

"OK," breathed Benny, "that was very disturbing. You know, er, Ethan, I've changed my mind – conservation walk it is!"

Ethan, very pale, nodded, and shuffled forwards even more slowly than before, flinching away from every outstretched branch.

"How do you think we got here?" asked Benny.

Ethan frowned, and ducked past another branch. "I'm not sure. The last thing I remember is walking into that mist, and then it's just the feeling of heat on one side."

"Yeah, me too." Benny stopped suddenly, as what sounded like a howl reached his ears. "Ethan – did you hear that?"

Trembling, Ethan turned and nodded. "Come on, let's keep going."

Around them, a breeze began to blow, rapidly gaining strength. The howl came again, and this time it was followed by an insistent baying, as if a pack of dogs was hunting something. From a little way off in the distance, there were a series of screams, just like the one that the tree had made. It sounded like they were getting closer.

Suddenly, a little way down from them, a man, dressed as they were, burst out of a thicket, smashing through branches, which filled the air with wails of pain. He clattered on through the darkness, but no sooner had he disappeared from view that a set of gigantic dogs ran out after him, growling and frothing at the mouth. They, too, ripped off branches as they passed, causing yet more screams.

Soon, they were gone, with only the sound of the dogs and the shrieks fading into the distance. Terrified, Ethan and Benny walked on a little further, before a new scream filled the air. This one was very different to that of the trees, and they could only imagine that the dogs had caught up with the man. The path was now wet with the blood of the trees, making it slippery under their shaking steps. Both of the boys were breathing very rapidly, almost on the point of becoming incapacitated by their fear.

"We've got to get out of here!" wailed Benny.

Ethan smiled at him weakly, trying to give both Benny and himself some reassurance. With a bravery that he didn't really feel, he clapped Benny on the shoulder. "It'll be OK, Benny! Look, there's a light in that direction. We must be near the edge!"

Faint with relief, Benny stumbled with his friend towards the light, ears straining for any other sounds in the forest. In his heightened state, even his own breathing sounded like the panting of an approaching dog.

As they neared the light, their fear began to build in them. The closer they got, the more they wanted to be out of the wood. Suddenly, paying no heed to the screams of the trees, and only possessed of their desire to get out, they both sprinted to the edge of the forest.

Panting, they shot out of the shrieking wood, and then skidded to a halt in shock.

"Oh, no!" moaned Ethan, falling, exhausted, to his knees. Benny, meanwhile, began to sob uncontrollably.

The burning sands stretched before them once again.


	40. Going Down - Part 3

**Here all cowardice must meet its death**

Sarah began to pace up and down in front of Rory. "So, we have the following problems. One, we need to resurrect you. Two, we need to find Ethan and Benny. Three, we need to all get out of here."

Rory nodded. "That sounds about right." He grinned. "Have you got a plan, then?"

Sarah looked at him dully. "Does it look like it? I don't even know where we are in Hell. This place is enormous! I'm guessing that the gates mean that we're just inside the entrance, but the others could be anywhere."

Frowning, Rory looked down. "Do you think we'll ever get out?"

Sarah shrugged. "We just need some kind of clue – some explanation, or even just a map!"

At her words, a figure detached itself from the grey crowd. "I think I might be able to help you out, Sarah," said a voice she had not expected to hear again.

* * *

"Now what, Ethan? This is exactly where we started!" Benny cried in despair.

"Well, er, we could try going back into the wood –"

"_Never!_"

"– I thought so – or we could cross the sand and try to find another way out."

Benny frowned. "Do you mean go _deeper_ into Hell?"

"Uh, now you put it like that…" Ethan hesitated. "Yeah," he said, flatly.

"There must be a third option!" said Benny, pacing up and down, intently concentrating on the problem. Finally he looked up. Ethan smiled, hopefully.

"Well?"

"In this situation, it appears that there isn't another choice. As it turns out there doesn't always _have_ to be a way out."

Ethan's face fell. "We could stay here, of course, but I don't think that that would be of much use."

Benny looked out at the scorching desert. "I suppose that the sand is only _hot_, rather than the forest, which is downright lethal."

Ethan nodded. "So… I guess that we'd better walk fairly quickly, then."

Benny smiled wanly. "And you laughed at me for trying out ballet in elementary school."

"Yeah, well, you looked ridiculous. And for some reason you always dragged me along to watch."

"Oh, come on, Ethan, like you had anything better to do!"

Ethan blushed, and then shook himself, sighed and shrugged. He looked thoughtfully back at the forest.

"You know, Benny, it's actually kind of reassuring that even after everything, there are still things that can freak us out."

Benny looked at him as if he had gone insane. "Yes, Ethan, because I've been really worried lately about how blasé we are. In fact, that's always at the front of my mind: 'We should be finding this _scarier_ than it already is.'" He rolled his eyes, and, using that irritation to cover his nervousness, put a foot out onto the sand.

* * *

"_Jessie_?" exclaimed Sarah, warily taking a step back. "But – But you're…"

"Dead? Why of course. In case you hadn't noticed Sarah, everyone down here is dead. Except for you." He smiled at her, which made her shiver.

"Why are you offering to help us? We helped killed you!"

Jesse shrugged. "Maybe I've mellowed. Or perhaps I just find it extremely unlikely that any of you will get out of this alive."

Sarah narrowed her eyes. "You're evil…" she argued.

"So are you, Sarah. All vampires are. Accept it." He smiled again.

"How do I know that you're not going to try to escape?"

At this, Jesse's face darkened. "It's impossible for me to escape. The souls that your friend freed still wait for me. Were I to return to life, they would immediately return me here."

Suspicious, Sarah eyed him up. She stayed silent.

"What choice do you have, Sarah? I'm the only one who can give you any information. I'm your only possible way out."

Sarah considered. She didn't like to admit it, but he was right.

"OK…" she said, cautiously. "First of all, what is this place? It's not like any Hell I've heard about."

A slight sneer on his face, Jesse looked down at her. "Well, Sarah, I think perhaps you should read a little more widely. Clearly your knowledge of the Italian Middle Ages is rather patchy."

Nonplussed, Sarah just waited for him to continue.

"This is limbo. Within the gates of Hell, but outside of judgement. We have no souls, and so cannot be judged. This is where all vampires end up, existing in this never ending blankness, slowly morphing into the featureless forms you can see around you. All personality is lost, and we become merely empty husks, which, in terms of our soul, are all that we are."

Here, Rory interrupted. "Then why aren't you all…" He ran his hand over his face, imitating the smooth faces of the figures around them."…smooth?" His eyes widened. "Why aren't _I_?"

"It takes _decades_, Rory. Eventually, that will be me. And then you. And, of course, in time, Sarah as well."

"No!" insisted Sarah. "I _will_ find a way out of being a vampire!"

Jesse laughed. "Had much success so far?"

She ignored him. "How can I save Rory?"

"It is only possible to be resurrected by drinking from the spring of the River Lethe. That will restore him to his body on the surface. Jesse laughed. "Had much success so far?"

She ignored him. "How can I save Rory?"

"It is only possible to be resurrected by drinking from the spring of the River Lethe. That will restore him to his body on the surface."

"And where's that?"

"Not in Hell. You must first take Rory out."

"And how would I do that? Those gates really don't want to be opened."

Jesse smiled. "This is why I don't think that you'll ever leave alive. The only other exit from Hell is right at the bottom. You'll have to travel across every pit to get there. As you can imagine, it's not going to be very easy."

"And Ethan and Benny? Why aren't they here?"

"Why would they be? They have souls. If they're down here, then they'll be wherever is deemed appropriate." He screwed up his nose. "How is your _boyfriend_, by the way?"

Sarah drew herself up. "Ethan is _not_ my boyfriend!"

"Really? And when did I say I was talking about him?"

"Uh…" Sarah looked away, furious.

"Do you know where they might be?" asked Rory, trying to break the awkwardness. Given everything, he wasn't likely to succeed.

Jesse closed his eyes. "I can sense them… Oh, Sarah, you're boyfriend – sorry, _Ethan_ – is on the burning sands." Amused, he raised his eyebrows, looked at Sarah, and chuckled to himself.

"He isn't my boyfriend!" she fumed.

"Maybe not, Sarah, maybe not…"

She turned away. "We'll just be going, then," she said, stalking off.

"Sarah?" called Jesse. "It's the other way."

Frowning, she spun around, and started to march off in the direction he pointed at. As she passed, he pressed a yellowing sheet of paper into her hands.

"A map. You might find it useful."

Surprised, she looked up, and found herself looking straight into his eyes. She was shocked to see that, on looking closely, they were intensely sad. They no longer possessed their charismatic charm, only holding a dull emptiness. It was like looking into an abyss. He knew that there was no escape from his awful fate, and that knowledge had already destroyed his spirit. Glancing at Rory, she was even more determined to succeed.

Suddenly filled with an unexpected sympathy for Jesse, despite everything that he had done, she nodded to him once, and then walked with Rory away. Looking over her shoulder, she saw him watching her, absolutely still. Then the grey ranks closed, and he was gone forever.


	41. Going Down - Part 4

**Through the valley of the shadow of death**

"Ow." – "Ow." – "Ow." – "OK, this burning sand _really_ hurts. I don't know how much more quickly I can walk, Benny."

Benny winced. "I know what you mean. Ouch!" He batted away a flame from the sole of his boot.

"I though these boots would give us some protection," complained Ethan.

"Well, imagine walking on your bare feet," pointed out Benny. Ethan nodded.

The pair of them were by now out of sight of the forest, and had been effectively skipping over the sand for some time. Now the desert just seemed to stretch infinitely off in every direction. At every other step, one or other of them winced as the heat penetrated their shoes.

"How much further do you think it is?" asked Benny.

Ethan shrugged. "I don't think this place has proper dimensions. We'll get there when we get there, I suppose. We've just got to keep – ah! – going."

"OK, but if we end up back at that forest, I'll…"

"You'll do _what_, Benny?"

"Uh…" He fell silent for a while.

"It's weird that we've seen no-one at all down here," commented Benny.

"Except that guy in the woods."

Benny grimaced. "Oh, yeah. What do you think we did to deserve that?"

"I don't know, but I hope I haven't done it. What do you think this sand punishes?"

"People who like their feet?" moaned Benny, jumping a little higher to get both feet off the ground at once. "That's a little better – Ouch!" As he landed, a little spray of sand jerked up to his ankle, burning it slightly.

"Hey," said Ethan, "is that a group of people over there?" He pointed. A little way over were a series of shapes on the horizon. "Maybe they can help us."

Benny looked dubious. "They're either people condemned to Hell, which would probably make them bad, or demons who torment people in Hell. Which would probably be worse."

"Still, it's better than nothing, right?" said Ethan, optimistically, and altering the direction of his undignified prancing hops to meet them.

"No!" said Benny, worried. "It's probably worse than nothing!"

Ethan, ignoring him, carried on towards the group. Benny reluctantly followed, muttering about his objections to the idea.

* * *

"OK, Rory, can you see anything ahead?"

"Yeah, we seem to have reached the end of the grey people. Now there's just this massive queue."

Sarah looked up from the map. "Oh."

In front of them stretched a gigantic line of people, all of them dressed in black cloth.

"What's this, the eternal queue-line? For the sinfully impatient?" Rory laughed at his own joke. The atmosphere, were it possible, seemed to get a little more intimidating.

"Rory…?" quavered Sarah. "No more jokes…"

Rory looked abashed. "What do you think they're waiting for?"

Sarah consulted the map. "It looks like there's a river here. The … Acheron? Maybe they're waiting to cross."

Rory frowned. "We should try and push through." To his surprise, no-one seemed particularly bothered about them pushing to the front.

"This is Hell, the wait is probably not the real punishment," observed Sarah. "So, any sign of this river?"

"I think so, yeah…" said Rory, in an awed tone.

Sarah looked up from the map again, and her mouth dropped open. In front of them was an immense river, falling in huge waterfalls at regular intervals. The water was very clear, and they could see strange and terrifying fish swimming apparently effortlessly in the strong current. A sign, a testament to an odd sense of humour, had been hammered into the riverbank.

'River Acheron. No Swimming. By Order."

"OK, then. What about a boat?" Sarah looked down the queue. That was exactly what they were lining up for. The little craft didn't look like it would take many people, though, and there was no way that she and Rory could sneak on without being spotted.

Unsure, she turned back to Rory. "I don't know how we're going to get across! We'll be stuck here forever!" she wailed.

Rory looked at her with a frown. "What are you talking about, Sarah? Of course we can cross."

"Is this another one of your jokes?"

"No…" Rory waved his arms by his sides. "Flap, flap, Sarah?"

She stared at him, convinced that he'd finally lost his mind. Seeing this, Rory rolled his eyes, and hovered a few inches off the ground. Slowly, comprehension dawned across her face.

* * *

"Hi!" called out Ethan, brightly, as they neared the group. Now that they were closer, it was clear that all were human, and that they were all running, obviously to escape the burning of the sands. If they were going to talk, then Ethan and Benny would likely have to go a bit faster to keep up.

"_Really!_" hissed Benny. "That's how you've decided to talk to people in Hell? Just walk up to them with a friendly 'Hi!' and hope that they'll talk to you? These are bad people, Ethan. Probably."

"Well, how would you approach it? 'Don't kill me – don't kill me – don't kill me – by the way how do we get out of here – don't kill me?'"

Benny scowled at Ethan's mockery of him. "Well, yeah, actually!"

"Hey, we're Canadian. We have standards to uphold."

Benny just sighed. "Fine. But if we get killed…" He paused, and then shook his head resignedly. "Again, I have nothing to end that sentence with."

"Come on. Let's meet some dead people."

"Why are you so cheerful about this, Ethan?"

"It's really just one of those you laugh or you cry situations." Ethan grinned at Benny, who, for the first time, noticed the manic edge to it. He hopped a little further away from him.

"Well, forgive me, but I'm probably siding with cry…"

Building up to a jog, Ethan at last caught up with the group of people. "Hello? Anyone?"

To his consternation, he was resolutely ignored by everyone he spoke to. They all just stared straight ahead, focused on running. "Now you know how I feel," muttered Benny.

"Well, they don't seem violent, so that's a plus!" said Ethan.

"On the other hand, we're no better off! Hello? Can anyone help us?" called out Benny. "Does anyone speak English?"

"Or French?" put in Ethan. Benny glared at him. "What?"

"We know, like, three phrases in French between us. Which is fine, provided we want to know how to get to the swimming pool. Though that might be nice, I don't think they've got one down here!"

Ethan nodded. "Oh, yeah. Rory speaks French quite well, I think, but there's no way that he's down here to help us" He called out to the group. "OK, well, forget about the French thing!"

Near the back of the group, a long haired man caught Ethan's eye. He then glanced at Benny made a small movement with his head, indicating that they join him. He looked vaguely familiar, but neither of the boys could place him. They felt that they really should pay more attention at school.

They ran over to him, and then kept pace with him. He looked at them sadly. "So young…" he murmured, a little wistfully.

"Why won't anyone talk to us?" asked Ethan, between gasps for breath.

"Most of them don't speak English, and much of the rest have become too concentrated on their punishment. It has sapped everything out of them, all this desert, for year after eternal year. I always enjoy meeting new company, but it is sad to see people as young as you two here."

"Well," panted Benny, "we don't intend to stay!"

The man frowned. "You believe that you can escape your torment?"

"We're not dead," said Ethan. "At least, I don't _think_ that we are. We just woke up here, by the forest."

"You weren't judged?" asked the man, incredulously.

Benny shook his head. "But I'm really not keen on this running thing," he wheezed. "What have you all done to deserve this?"

"I dare not say," said the man, looking down.

"Go on, what did you do?" asked Benny, with an inquisitive grin. "Kill someone?" He looked at their companion with a mawkish curiosity.

"Benny!" cut in Ethan. He smiled apologetically at the man, who only looked a little confused.

"If you two don't know, then…" The man paused. "If you really are not dead, then, I have heard of only one other who has walked this way while still alive."

"Who?" asked Ethan, now breathing very heavily indeed.

"It was centuries ago. He wrote his journey down as a poem, and was guided by Virgil himself, so they say."

"Where did he go?"

"Down," said the man. "You must head for the centre of Hell. There is, according to legend, an exit there. If you are not dead, then perhaps you will return to Earth from there. Apart from that, I do not know what else I can say that is of any use to you."

He looked about him. "We are now at the closest point on our circuit to the edge of this desert. If you head left from here, you should soon reach the next circle."

"Thank you," panted Ethan. Benny, too out of breath to speak, merely nodded his agreement.

"Go," said the man. "And good luck!"

As they jogged away, slackening the pace in their exhaustion, ignoring the increasing heat beneath their boots, he waved morosely to them, and ran on with the rest of the group, there to wait out the rest of eternity.

"Come – on – Benny!" wheezed Ethan, his face bright red with the effort.

"I thought – after we stopped – gym – class – we'd never – have to – run – again!" Benny eventually managed, clutching at a stitch.

"Maybe, we should have –" Here Ethan broke into a spasm of coughing. "- tried to keep up, rather than doing our best to do as little as – possible."

They staggered on across the hot sand, always getting slower and slower. Eventually, disregarding the pain of the fire, Ethan doubled over, and stopped, completely out of breath. Benny stopped, too. After a while, when Ethan had recovered a little, he realised that his feet weren't burning away.

"Hey, Benny, is it – me, or is – it – cooler now?"

When he got no reply, he forced his head up. Benny was leaning, exhausted, against a boulder, staring out in stunned silence at the enormous abyss that opened in front of them. They had definitely reached the end of the desert. The chasm of black rock, the same as that they were standing on, sank down into darkness, dropping so far that it seemed bottomless. Around the edge ran three rivers, one red, one black, and one crystal clear, yet all combined in one place to form a colossal waterfall which dropped into the pit with a roar that was so loud that it, strangely, seemed almost silent in their ears.

"How do we get down there?" said Benny, looking back at Ethan, his face grey.


	42. Going Down - Part 5

**I will fear no evil**

Sarah and Rory landed lightly on the other side of the river. No-one seemed particularly bothered about them doing so. They probably had other things on their minds. In the distance, a second line stretched away towards a colossal figure that appeared to be using its tail to fling people in the vast pit which Sarah and Rory now stood on the edge of.

Sarah peered over the edge. The depth made her head swim, and she backed away into Rory. "It looks like it goes on forever… How are we ever going to find Ethan and Benny?"

Rory shrugged, but then looked searchingly at the abyss. "I think… it gets narrower. It's so huge that it's hard to tell from here, but I think that, as we go down, the rings will get smaller. That might make it easier. Where did Jesse say Ethan and Benny were?"

"The burning sands," replied Sarah, looking at her map. "That seems to be on the seventh level down, if this one is the first."

"Let's go, then," said Rory, walking towards the queue.

"Er, is that a good idea? We clearly don't belong there."

"Well, that ramp looks like the only way down."

Now it was Sarah's turn to flap her arms in imitation of a bird.

Rory grinned, and, without warning, jumped over the edge of the parapet. "Wheee!"

Sarah, more cautiously, followed.

* * *

"What are we going to do, Ethan?" asked Benny, peering into the blackness.

Ethan edged towards the side to get a better look. "Urrggh…" he mumbled, swaying slightly. Benny grabbed him at the waist to make sure he didn't fall. Clutching at a rock, Ethan sat down heavily. There was a long pause.

"Er, Benny?"

"Yeah?"

"You can let go of me now. Again."

Releasing him, Benny sat next to him. "Sorry. Again," he said, looking away.

Ethan frowned. "OK, so it's really, really deep. So deep that we don't even know how deep it is."

Benny picked up a rock and lobbed it over the edge. "That should do the trick."

They waited. And waited. And then waited.

Nothing.

* * *

Sarah landed on something soft.

"Ouch!" said Rory, followed by a groan.

Bending down, Sarah helped the blonde vampire up. He grinned sheepishly. "I forgot to put the brakes on before I reached the ground."

Sarah shook her head in amusement, and turned to look at where they were. All around them was just darkness. Leaning against the rocky outcrop they had landed next to, she peered into the blackness. She could see no-one.

"This seems to be a fairly torment-free Hell we've found ourselves in," she quipped to Rory, taking a step out towards where she presumed the next circle lay. "What's this, for those who are afraid of the da –"

Rory watched in horror as Sarah was yanked away into the mysterious black, which, even with his vampire's vision, he couldn't see through.

"Sarah?" he called. There was no reply. Confused, Rory stretched a hand out to where she had been. It was instantly buffeted by an enormously strong wind. With some effort, he brought his hand back into the cover of the overhanging rock before it could be ripped off. He looked out again. It was incredible how such a strong wind could be so close, yet be completely undetectable. With a gulp, he realised what he had to do if he wanted to find out where Sarah was.

Positioning himself exactly as she had, he closed his eyes, took a step out, and was dragged away by the whirlwind.

A while later, it was Rory's turn to crash into something soft.

"Ow," complained Sarah. "Is that you, Rory?"

"Yep!" he exclaimed.

"OK, so we seem to have hit a wall, with quite a lot of other people here."

She paused, and the moans of people all around them became plain to Rory. Every now and again there was another muffled thump as, presumably, more people were caught up in the ferocious wind.

"This is cosy," commented Rory. "Ow! That hurt, Sarah!"

"Yeah, well, you deserved it. Now, I _think_ if we climb past these people, we might get all the way across."

"They're not going to be very happy…"

"Worth a try, though, right?"

* * *

"Hmm…" said Benny, looking worried. "We could try magic? We could at least get some light down there."

Ethan nodded, and, lying down on his front, inched towards the precipice again, Benny alongside him."

Benny muttered something and made a gesture with his hand. Nothing happened.

"Was that meant to happen?" asked Ethan.

Benny shook his head and tried again. Still nothing.

"Are you sure you're doing it right?" Ethan commented, raising an eyebrow.

"_Yes_," retorted Benny, scowling and trying again.

"This isn't working."

"No…" said Benny, frightened. "I don't think my magic works down here."

"Ah. Not good."

They lapsed into silence again.

* * *

"Rory? I can't feel any more people. There's just empty space. I think we've reached the edge."

"_Good_. These people here are rather, er, _grabby_, if you know what I mean."

"Yeah. Slightly creepy, if you ask me."

"Mmm. And really, I've always seen myself as more of a grabb_er_ than a grabb_ee_."

Twisting, Sarah kicked him, hard.

"Ahhh!" exclaimed Rory. "I meant it in a nice way!"

"Sure you did," she said, witheringly.

"Oof," he moaned. He soon recovered himself. "What do you think they've been sent here for?"

"I can guess, but I'll check the map when we get some light. Ready to jump?"

"Ready."

* * *

"If we took off all our clothes –"

"I'm stopping you right there, Benny."

"But – but we could tie them all into a rope and lower ourselves over the edge and –"

"No. Just no."

"_Fine_. Just a suggestion." Benny went back to staring over the edge, deep in thought.

* * *

The pair of them stood sullenly in the rain for a few moments before speaking.

"Where is that even coming from?" asked Rory, looking up at the cloudless air above them.

Sarah shrugged. "Where did that darkness come from? It just happens. Now, where are we…?" She pulled the piece of paper from her pocket. "Yes, as I thought, that was the circle of the lustful. Now… the gluttonous."

Rory looked around at all the black clad figures lying half-in, half-out of the muddy ground. He grinned. "It can't be. Benny doesn't seem to be around."

Sarah's lips twitched into a smile. "I guess…" She examined a nearby person, smothered by the horrible slush. "Yuck." Looking down at her feet, she noticed that she was being sucked into the mire as well. She hovered out, looking with disgust at her mud-drenched shoes. "I suppose it's lucky that they're not mine!"

Rory hovered next to her. The rain was wetting the blood on his chest, and it was starting to run down and drip onto the ground. He watched it fall, and sighed. "Let's get out of here."

Together, they flew on to the next drop.

* * *

The rock Benny had thrown hit the stony floor at the base of the abyss with a sharp _clink_.

* * *

"Where are we now?" asked Rory, looking at the groups of people hauling on huge sacks.

"Hmm… It looks like we've met the avaricious," said Sarah. "Look, all the sacks are stuffed with coins."

"So, they have to lug around all the money they've hoarded their entire lives?" said Rory.

"Looks like it."

"I have to say, that is impressively appropriate. You have to hand it to this place; Hell really does have good organisation!"

Sarah looked at him. "Well, a little less of the praise, Rory. People might think that you like it here."

"Hey, who's that weird little guy?" Rory pointed at a small man, hunched over, with pointed ears and a sharp face.

Snarling, the creature lunged at them, babbling something unintelligible in some strange language. In response, Sarah bared her own fangs and hissed at him. Suddenly respectful, the fiend backed away, and allowed the two to pass unhindered.

"Yeah," said Rory, uncertain, "uh, you're doing a really good job here, so, er, keep it up!" He beamed broadly at the little man, who started gabbling again. "OK, let's run!" hissed Rory out of the corner of his mouth.

They did so, launching themselves over the side of the circle when they reached to it, and quickly finding themselves in the next.

There, they were faced with a river so wide and sluggish that it seemed like more of a swamp than a true river. The water was an inky black, and it had black reeds poking out of it at odd intervals. On the surface, filthy figures struggled with each other, while, under the water lay more of the damned, drowning forever in the dark waters. On the other side of the marsh, just visible, lay the walls of a vast city, with turrets and towers that appeared to gleam in the faint light.

"That must be the…" Sarah frowned and twisted the map in order to better read the writing, "… the city of Dis, and the entry to lower Hell. This is the River Styx, and we are on the … fifth level down now. The wrathful and sullen."

Rory nodded. "We're getting closer, then?"

"I hope so."

Avoiding the brawling shades, Sarah and Rory flew on towards the glittering walls of Dis.

* * *

Ears pricking up at a faint sound, Ethan glanced across at Benny. "Did you hear that?"

"The rock?" asked Benny.

Ethan nodded. Gulping, Benny stared at the pit. The pit stared back.

"That's really quite deep…" he breathed.

* * *

"Oh," said Rory, disappointed. "That's nowhere near as impressive close up."

The two of them were now in the shadow of the great walls. No longer were they the shining, perfect structures that they had seen from afar; the reality was one of decay. The stonework was cracked and crumbling, while the huge towers were little more than creaking husks. There was even a tumbledown breach in the wall, which Sarah and Rory clambered over, unopposed. The demons that had once patrolled the battlements were long gone, assigned to other duties.

Slowly, the pair made their way down the wide, ruinous steps to the sixth circle of Hell, dotted, seemingly, with gigantic bonfires. Sarah looked at the map. She winced. "Heretics. That can't be fun."

They passed quickly through this level, finding that each fire was, in fact, a mausoleum, stuffed with burning figures. "Enough fire and brimstone for you now, Sarah?" inquired Rory, unusually serious. She nodded, trembling, and wrenched her head away from the inferno of the bodies. The stench of burning skin was overpowering.

"Come on," she gagged, "let's move on."

They sped across the red, dusty plain, eventually dropping over the next rim to the seventh level. Here, somewhere, were Ethan and Benny. Staring out across the vast disc in front of them, Rory whistled, impressed. "This looks like the largest yet…"

Far in the distance could be seen the darkness of the next pit, yet before that lay a vast desert, in front of that a dense forest of pale trees, and, just in front of them, a broad, fast flowing river. A river filled with people screaming and writhing in pain. A red river. A river, it seemed, of blood.

His eyes lighting on it, Rory turned to Sarah. "Is that what I think it is?" he asked.

Sarah consulted the map. "The River Phlegethon. For the violent. It does look awfully… bloody."

Rory hurried down to the bank and dipped a finger tentatively into the red liquid. It was rather hot, but… He licked his finger, and a broad smile grew across his face. He looked pleadingly at Sarah. "Can we stop for a quick snack?"

Sarah scooped up a little. "A river of blood?"

Rory beamed. "We've been wrong all along! This isn't Hell, but _Heaven_!" He eagerly slurped from the river. After a moment of hesitation, Sarah joined him.

After a while, both were satisfied. Sarah looked along the bank. "I think we've stayed here long enough. Let's cross."

Rory nodded, and they flew over the river. Occasionally, he shouted out enthusiastically at people he recognised. "Is that _Attila the Hun? Alexander the Great! Genghis Kahn!"_

Sarah shook her head. Boys!

On the other side, they faced the silvery wood. "What's that?" asked Rory.

"Suicides."

"It's rather _spooky_," commented Rory. "We fly over it?" he suggested.

"Agreed," said Sarah.

They were soon past it, and Rory pointed at something on the desert's edge. "What's that?" They landed by two hollows in the earth. One Benny-sized, the other a little smaller.

Sarah smiled. "I think we've found them!" She scanned the area. "Look, footprints in this – ouch! – _burning_ sand!"

"Let's follow them, then," said Rory.

* * *

"We could jump," suggested Benny.

Ethan looked at Benny, bewildered at the suggestion. "We'd be smashed to pieces at the bottom. If something doesn't get to us first."

"It might work if we could fly. If only Sarah were here…" said Benny, mournfully.

"Yeah, if only," came a low voice from behind them.

Ethan and Benny froze in terror, and, slowly, turned around to see who had spoken.


	43. Going Down - Part 6

**And then we emerged to see the stars again**

Benny and Ethan rolled over to see who had spoken to them, not anticipating a friendly outcome. They certainly didn't expect to see who was standing behind them.

"Rory?"

"Sarah?"

"Benny!"

"Rory!"

"Sarah?"

"Ethan!"

"Rory?" Rory frowned. "Hang on, that's me, isn't it?"

Slowly breaking into broad smiles, they nodded and then started to laugh with relief. After a while, though, Ethan and Benny's eyes were drawn magnetically to Rory's chest.

"Er… Rory? It's great to see you, but … why?" said Ethan, eventually, gazing with a disturbed fascination at the bloodied stake.

Rory looked down. "Oh, this? I got killed."

"Weren't you already dead?" put in Benny.

Rory scowled. "OK, well, permanently dead, then. But it's OK, because I'm going to be resurrected!"

"Ah, right. Like Lazarus, and… well, that's basically it," said Benny, dubiously.

"Are you OK, Rory? How did it happen?" asked Ethan.

"I'm fine, provided we get to the spring of the River Lethe, apparently. It was just the other night, after I went to the gathering, and, well," (here Rory skipped the parts of his story that made him look bad) "I fought off the whole Vampire Council, but then it got really misty, and I don't know who staked me."

Somewhat overwhelmed by all of that, Ethan and Benny just opened and closed their mouths, like a pair of goldfish staring at something new. Which, to a goldfish, is just about everything.

"Vampire Council…"

"Staked you…" murmured Ethan/

"Don't…" said Benny, under his breath. Then he frowned. "Why did I say that?" he wondered aloud.

"I don't think we've really got time to pick apart Rory's story right now, guys," insisted Sarah. "We have to get out of here, before anything bad happens. By the looks of it, we've been lucky so far, but we don't know what could be ahead."

"_Lucky!_" screeched Benny, pointing to the charred section of his hair, and his burnt shoes. "if that's lucky, then I don't want to be unlucky!"

Ignoring him, Ethan turned to Sarah. "Where exactly are we going?"

"Apparently, there's an exit right at the bottom. Which is kind of counter-intuitive, but –"

Sarah was stopped by Ethan holding up his hand. "Where did you find this out?"

"Up in vampire Hell."

Benny snorted.

"Don't laugh, Benny, it's really quite creepy. Anyway, Jesse said –"

Here Ethan interrupted with a splutter. "_Jesse_! Jesse told you about this exit? It's some kind of trap!"

Sarah looked uneasy. "That crossed my mind, too, but having been in here a while, I'm pretty sure that he's not the worst thing down here by a long way. Anyway, although there is a gate at the top, it's impossible even to turn towards it without it getting inside your head. Trust me."

Ethan still looked sceptical, but nodded, and looked back out over the abyss. "OK. Any idea how we're going to get down?"

Sarah hovered a little off the ground and raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, no, no, _no way!" _protested Ethan.

"It's OK, Ethan," said Sarah, smiling and holding out her arms. "I'll car –"

This time, Sarah was interrupted by Ethan's frightened yell as Rory barrelled into him and swept him over the side.

"Oh," said Sarah, seeming a little disappointed. Benny grinned.

"I don't mind, Sarah!" He stretched out his arms invitingly and raised an eyebrow, but she scrunched up the back of his top and let him hang, legs flapping, at arm's length from her as she slowly descended to the lower regions of Hell.

* * *

At the bottom of the cliff, Sarah let go of Benny, who tumbled to the ground. Fortunately for him, his fall was broken by Ethan, who groaned.

"This is becoming quite regular, Benny…"

Beneath Ethan, a prone Rory also gave out a small moan as he'd now been squashed by two people at once.

Sarah landed delicately on the rocky outcrop, as if she had just taken a step down, rather than a drop of several hundred feet. With a wry smile, she helped all three of them up. "Forgot to brake, again, Rory?"

Shamefacedly, he nodded. "Well, something's broken, I think…"

Sarah just laughed.

"Where's this, then?" as ked Benny, looking around.

Sarah looked at the little map. "_Malebolge_. The chasms of Fraud." She looked up. "There are ten valleys we have to cross before reaching the ninth, and final, circle."

Ethan frowned. "Is it me, or does each circle seem _larger_ than the last? This is weird if we're in an inverted frustum."

They looked at him, not understanding what he found significant.

"Come on, guys! It's basic geometry."

The others took quick side glances, and shrugged. "I'm pretty sure we all failed Geometry class," admitted Sarah.

Ethan sighed, and explained. "Inverted frustum equals upside down cone with the top cut off."

Benny grinned. "Why didn't you say that?"

"Because it's quicker to say – Oh, never mind, anyway, I –"

Benny interrupted. "No, I get what you're saying. It defies common sense that, though the shape is getting narrower, each level is bigger than the last. And I know why."

He smiled confidently at them. A little deflated, Ethan looked at Benny curiously. "OK, then, why?"

"Magic!" exclaimed Benny, with a broad smile. Rory nodded enthusiastically.

Ethan opened his mouth to speak, and then just gave up. "OK, so what's this one for?"

Sarah consulted the map. "Seducers. As opposed to the promiscuous and lustful who are somewhere up there, I guess."

"Well, I suppose seduction is an active sin, rather than a passive one. That would make it worse, right?" suggested Benny.

"I suppose so. Now where are they?"

Rory walked on a little further. "Down here, in this valley. They're all walking in a line, and – _cool!_"

"What?" said Ethan, wearily, walking up to where Rory was.

"Real demons! With pitchforks and everything!" he said, jumping up and down in excitement. Ethan eyed him, warily.

"OK, Rory, but let's not attract their attention, or we might be joining the queue to get, uh, pitchforked."

Rory's mouth formed an 'o' of understanding, and he stopped speaking. He couldn't contain the energy that sent him bouncing up and down along the edge of the valley. Sarah and Benny joined them. They winced as they saw the whipped people below.

"That must really hurt if it goes on forever," muttered Benny.

"How do we cross without attracting attention?" asked Ethan.

"Down there," whispered Sarah. "There's an old bridge. The parapet's high enough to cover us. Come on."

They sneaked off to the bridge, and carefully started to cross it. Benny took a few steps, before the stonework crumbled under him, sending a shower of masonry tumbling into the ravine. His leg slipped through, but Rory grabbed him before he could fall. Breathing quickly, Benny nodded his thanks. They waited anxiously to see if his mishap had been spotted. Nothing. They were safe to continue on.

On the other side, there was a revolting smell. The next ditch was mercifully demon-free, but the figures in it were deep in mucky brown pools that looked horribly … organic in origin.

Pinching his nose shut, Benny looked across at Sarah. "What's that?"

Resisting the urge to giggle about his funny voice, Sarah looked at the map. "Flatterers. And yes, I think it is, um…"

Benny raised his eyebrows in disgust. "So they used to talk…" His voice faded, out of decency.

Sarah nodded. "And now they live in it."

"I feel a bit sick now…" mumbled Ethan. "Can we just fly over it?"

Rory, on the other hand, was admiring. "That's _really_ neat. Yuck, but still neat!"

Sarah rolled her eyes. "Yeah. Come on."

Rory taking an unwilling Ethan again, they flew over the pit of sludge and into the third valley.

* * *

By the time they reached the central well, all four of them were visibly shaken.

"The sorcerers in the fourth pit with their heads twisted backwards…" murmured Benny, very pale. He looked at Ethan. "Just like those who could see the future."

"Yeah…" said Ethan, shakily. "But – I guess – those were all _frauds_, right? I mean, we're genuine. Aren't we?" Trembling, he rubbed his neck, as if expecting it to suddenly snap round.

Rory, pale, reflected on the fat of the thieves in the seventh ditch. "They were bitten by snakes, and then they became snakes, and then they went back to being human, and it went on and on until they didn't know whether they were humans or snakes." He shivered. He couldn't imagine anything worse than to not know _what_ he was. To lose his innate 'Roryness'.

"The 'Sowers of Discord' in the ninth valley, who were cut open, and healed, and cut open again. There was one that I saw who was sliced in two each time… For ever and ever…" Sarah gripped the brick lined wall of the pit they had reached. "And the fire – so much fire! Everywhere people burn!"

She looked across at Rory, her eyes wild. "I take it back, Rory. All the fire is here. Too much… I don't want it! This _is_ Hell."

They lapsed into silence, just staring vacantly into the hole in the ground in front of them, trying to forget the horrors that they had seen. Pale and sweating, Benny essayed a weak smile. "At least we can agree that the politicians in the fifth valley deserved the molten tar?"

"Maybe," replied a glassy eyed Ethan. "Nothing worse than a politician, eh?"

Suddenly, a terrible roar of pain and fury emanated from the black well in front of them.

Benny gave a small whimper and tried to hide behind Ethan. "I think you might be wrong there…"

Snapped out of their daze by the noise, the four of them looked fixedly at the comparatively narrow entrance to the final pit of Hell.

"Only one way to find out…" said Sarah, arching her eyebrows. Taking Ethan in her left hand and Benny in her right, she hopped up without warning onto the wall, and stepped confidently off, Rory at her elbow. Unable to help themselves, all four of them screamed as they fell into yawning mouth.

* * *

On landing in the pale blue gloom, for once Rory managing to slow down in time, they stared around in the weird half-light. They were standing on a lake of ice. Around them were shapes sticking out of the ice. Those further away were sunk progressively deeper, until right in the distance, it flattened out entirely. They couldn't imagine that that would just be empty space.

Away in the darkness, beyond where they could see, a chill wind blew across the ice, bringing a new layer of frost with every blast. From that direction, too, came strange sounds – of muffled grunts, slurps, and the incessant beat of something passing rhythmically through the air.

"Cocytus." Said Sarah, quietly, her breath misting in the frigid air. "The lake of traitors."

"This is the centre of Hell?" asked Ethan, jamming his fingers under his armpits, now strangely nostalgic for the heat of the burning sands. That seemed a long time ago now.

She nodded.

"Hell really has frozen over," said Benny. "We go on, I suppose?"

Silently, they made their way across the ice, passing moaning figures trapped in the ice. Slipping, Rory grabbed at one to keep him upright, only for the arm he was holding onto to break away. Dropping it in revulsion, he watched it shatter on the smooth ice. He shuddered, and then looked back at the cracked stump. It had already regrown, its owner staring fixedly ahead. It was only on closer inspection that Rory discovered to his horror that its tears had frozen, forcing the eyes open in their mournful expression for eternity.

He crept away with the others, who were picking over the stretched out hands and half-frozen heads of those almost totally encased in ice.

Then, they reached the plain of clean, clear ice. They had not been wrong in thinking that it was used for something. Staring at them, mouths stuck open, were more figures. Some were buried so deep in the ice that they could barely be seen at all.

By now, the roaring wind had grown to drown out all other sound, and looking up at once, the four saw a gigantic figure, beating its wings fruitlessly.

Encased in ice to its waist was a three headed creature, in each mouth a person, being eternally chewed.

"Is that…" started Benny, quivering with fear.

"The root of all the evil in the world? I think so."

"It's strangely pathetic," said Ethan. "With every beat of his wings, he only makes the ice trapping him thicker. He can do nothing to harm us."

"Actually, I'm OK with that!" said Benny, rather hysterically.

"Well, this seems to be the middle," said Rory. "How do we get out? And where's this Lethe to resurrect me?"

"I _knew_ it," hissed Ethan. "Jesse lied to you, Sarah. We're trapped down here until we freeze to death."

Sarah frowned, and looked up, desperate for it not to be true. "No…" she said slowly.

"Sarah, I'm afraid that you can't –"

"No!" she said again, more strongly now.

"Sarah!" said Ethan, turning angrily to face her. He stopped when he saw that she was smiling.

"Look," she said, pointing up at the roof of the cave, directly above the arch-fiend.

They did. There was a small hole, just big enough for a person, and through it came a shaft of yellow light. That was what lit this entire ghostly scene. "Jesse was telling the truth," said Sarah, a pitying tear freezing on her cheek. "Rory? Grab Benny. We're getting out of here!"

With that, she launched herself up, past the leathery wings, past the snarling teeth chomping down on the worst of traitors, past the anguished yellow eyes, and, at last, past the wicked horns, and into the tunnel. With a triumphant shout, she dragged Ethan up, Rory, beaming, right behind her with Benny under his arm.

Then triumph turned to confusion, as all the forces of nature seemed to reverse on them once they entered the tunnel. Instead of rising to the surface, they found themselves falling – falling every deeper, and yet heading towards a blinding light.

They burst out of the tunnel, and gravity reasserted itself. It was dark, but a natural darkness - night-time, and there were stars twinkling above them. Gazing up in wonder at their deliverance, they looked to see where they found themselves.

"We made it out of Hell!" exclaimed Ethan, jubilant. Overjoyed, Rory grabbed Ethan and Sarah and drew them into a tight embrace, while holding his hand out for Benny. Turning, Benny looked at them with an ashen face.

"Guy? I don't think we're in Whitechapel." He pointed behind him.

Looking past him, they saw that they had emerged on the shore of a vast island, with a many tiered mountain erupting out of the centre.

Sarah looked at her map. She turned it over to see what was on the other side. Her eyes widened.

"Welcome to Purgatory…"

* * *

**_To Be Continued..._**


	44. Episode 8 - Heading Up

**Episode 8. Continuing directly on from last time. This, as was the last episode, is in a setting lovingly borrowed from Dante. Reviews keenly sought, as usual.**

* * *

... Heading Up

* * *

**_Previously (for those who haven't been paying attention):_**

_On returning from the beach having dealt with a lake monster, Sarah, Ethan, and Benny wake to find themselves in Hell. Ethan and Benny awake by a vast burning desert, while Sarah finds herself just inside the gates of Hell in Limbo. There, she meets Rory, who she discovers had been staked on the previous day, while protecting the unsuspecting trio. In order to escape and resurrect Rory, she follows instructions given by Jesse, and heads to the centre of Hell. On the way, they meet up with Ethan and Benny and they all safely, if shaken, make it to the bottom, where they discover a tunnel leading them to the surface - not returning them to Whitechapel, but instead transporting them to Purgatory..._

* * *

**Fast falls the eventide**

Ethan, Sarah, Benny and Rory sat on the shore of the island of Purgatory and stared out at the boundless sea lapping at the shingle. A harsh grating sound rasped across their hearing with every wave, but, after everything that they had experienced in Hell, it was not unpleasant, and, in fact, rather comforting, to know that something so ordinary and natural could be so irritating.

It was dusk, and the stars were just visible in the pristine sky. They were of no constellations that Benny or Ethan, space obsessed nerds as they were, knew of. The shadow of the mountain loomed behind them ominously.

"I suppose we're going to have to climb that?" asked Ethan wearily, stifling a yawn.

Poring over the map, Sarah nodded absently. "Yes… It looks like the spring of the Lethe is right at the very peak."

"Of course it is," muttered Benny, who was skimming stones across the giant expanse of dark blue water. What was odd, though, was that, no matter how hard he threw a stone, by the he reached for another, an identical stone –bone dry – was right at his fingertips. He took that as a hint that there was no point in trying to leave the island by water, as they would only be spontaneously returned. Looking back at the mountain, he groaned. From here, it seemed about as large as the pit of Hell had been, except that they had managed to fall through most of the pit. This was going to be all legwork. He winced. He wasn't really prepared for such a strenuous task. Especially now that he was – so – so – (he yawned) – tired.

"Let's get started, then," said Sarah, pushing herself up from the ground. Reluctantly, the others did the same.

"Where do we start?" asked Rory.

Benny pointed at a white scar across the lower part of the mountain. "That looks like a path."

Off they trudged in the dying light, heading towards the end of the apparent entrance. As they walked, they saw a small, silver boat appear on the horizon, and gradually draw nearer. By the time they were almost at the start of the path, they discovered an inlet in the shingle which formed a small natural harbour. Hiding behind one of the many boulders that littered the beach, the four of them peeked out at the approaching vessel.

The craft was small, with only a dozen or so passengers, all dressed in white versions of Ethan and Benny's clothes. There was no-one piloting the boat, yet it moved smoothly over the water with a sense of purpose, and gently manoeuvred itself through the narrow mouth of the bay and then ran aground on the shore, just in front of the chalky path. There, the white-clad figures disembarked, and, at a steady, reverential pace slowly made their way up the mountain. Unbidden, the gleaming barque slipped away from the shoreline and hurried out to sea.

Just to see it had a vaguely soothing effect on the four. This was clearly a very different place from the oppressive horror of Hell. Here there was calm; a resignation to what would happen. Without really realising it, they all began to breathe a little more easily. Figuratively, of course, for Rory and Sarah

When path was clear of the new arrivals, Sarah looked round at the others. "I think we're OK to go now."

Nodded, they crept after her, up the shallow, chalky path on the bare rock. They kept silent, on the lookout for anyone who might notice them.

Looking down, Ethan plucked at his black clothes. "It's a good thing we're dressed like this. People won't see us at night."

"Yeah, but we all might stick out a bit in the day time," commented Rory.

"Hey, well, it's not like we exactly blend in most of the time anyway. We are, kind-of, the reject kids in life, and, er, now the after-life" said Benny flatly.

Ethan nudged him. "We broke out of Hell. That's got to be worth some points!"

Benny smiled faintly. "Yeah… I suppose that makes us pretty cool."

Sarah laughed. "We can get you out of anywhere! Undead? No problem. Stuck in an alternate dimension? Don't sweat it. No job too big or small!"

Rory coughed, causing them all to look round at him. "We're not out yet. And, I hate to bring it up, but I'm still dead."

Ethan raised his eyebrows in acknowledgement. "I'm sorry. You're right, Rory."

Rory frowned. "That sounds weird…" He grinned again. "I could get used to this 'being right' thing!"

"Yeah…" Benny said, a fixed smile on his face, as Rory drew himself up proudly. "OK, when we get out of here, he'll go back to normal, right?" he whispered to Sarah.

"I really hope so," replied Sarah.

By now, the bare side of the mountain had given way to a lush green meadow. None of the flowers were familiar, but they recognised grass, which cheered them. They walked through the green, pastoral scene, and found themselves in a long valley, filled with figures in white sitting or lying on the ground. At the very far end stood a little wicker gate, by which was a small hut. Beyond it, the mountain increased in gradient steeply, but it was already too dark to see any higher.

"Where's this, then?" asked Ethan.

"The valley of the late repentant. Just in front of the entrance to Purgatory proper," replied Sarah.

Suddenly, both Ethan and Benny yawned at once. So did Rory. Sarah looked at him curiously. "Why? We're vampires, we don't get sleepy."

He shrugged. "Practice, I guess. I yawned a lot when I was mortal. Everything was just so boring. But, then, I never really did anything."

"Why?" asked Sarah.

"I suppose it was mostly that I was pretty lazy. That, and Benny and Ethan would always do everything together, and I wasn't normally invited. I'm sure I could have joined in if I'd wanted to, but then that time passed, and it was just the two of them." For a moment, Rory looked sad, but soon brightened. "Anyway, I've got forever to do things in, so who cares if I don't do it all at once!"

Sarah went to look reproachfully at Ethan and Benny. "That was really mean of you two –"

She stopped, raised a surprised eyebrow, and laughed. Propped up against a tree, Benny was fast asleep. Next to him, his mouth half-open, so was Ethan, with his head lolling on Benny's shoulder.

"Ahhhh. Aren't they sweet?" said Sarah with a wry grin at Rory. He laughed and then sat down on the ground to watch them.

Sarah glanced at her watch, and then wondered why she had done so. What on earth was it going to tell her _here_? "I suppose we can spare a little time for them to rest."

With that, she settled down next to Rory, and waited for the night to pass.


	45. Heading Up - Part 2

**Where is death's sting?**

"Mmmf," sighed Ethan, stirring a little from his sleep, but not opening his eyes. He wrinkled his nose. "Sarah?" he muttered, "I hate to break it to you, but you smell really _bad_."

"Ethan?" called Sarah, with a laugh in her voice. "You're not talking to me. Again. But thanks for the tact, though. I'd really have appreciated it."

"What?" murmured Ethan, confusedly, while opening his eyes. The world was sideways, and Sarah was sitting cross-legged next to Rory, a little distance away. "Huh?" He raised his head, feeling his hair brush something just above him. He looked at what it was, and flushed as he realised that it was, again, Benny that he had been sleeping next to.

"Oh… Not again! This is getting embarrassing." He tried to quietly move away from Benny's shoulder without waking his friend, but, with a small whine of loneliness, Benny, still sleeping, put his arm around Ethan and pulled him back in.

"No…" said Benny under his breath. "Come back to –"

Here, instead of waiting for Benny to complete his sentence, Ethan hurriedly poked him sharply in the ribs. Benny woke with a start, and the two of them sprang apart, flustered and very red. Opposite, Sarah and Rory were falling about laughing.

"It's as funny as you said it was, Sarah!" exclaimed Rory, doubling over with sniggering.

Terrifically embarrassed, Ethan and Benny looked carefully away from each other and then, still scarlet, sat down at right angles to Sarah and Rory, who were still finding the situation hilarious. Eventually, Ethan managed to drag his eyes back to Benny.

"Let's not talk about that again. Again."

Benny looked confused, and narrowed his eyes at Ethan. "Why _again_? Has this happened before?"

"Er… No, no, never!" said Ethan quickly, blushing again. Benny looked at him suspiciously. Silence fell over the little group, broken only by the occasional snort and chuckle for either Sarah or Rory. Most of the time, Benny just looked bewildered, but then a familiar expression crossed his face.

"I'm hungry…" he said, looking down mournfully at his stomach..

Ethan looked up, deep in thought. "What?"

Benny held up his hands. "What else can I say, Ethan, I'm hungry!"

"You're always hungry," commented Sarah.

"Yeah, well, it's been, uh, I guess, an indeterminate amount of time since I last ate. And even then I was sick right after, thanks to Chef Ethan there." As if on cue, Benny's stomach rumbled.

Sarah looked around. "Rory and I managed to fill up pretty well on a river of blood back in Hell –"

"Eww," interjected Ethan, screwing up his face. "That's disgusting!"

Sarah raised an eyebrow. "You dribble in your sleep. You can't talk."

Ethan looked away, and Benny put a hand to his shoulder. "I wondered why it felt wet!"

"Anyway," cut across Sarah, "this is effectively a really big garden. Maybe there's some fruit. Apples, maybe?"

The early morning sky seemed to darken, and a little tremor ran through where they were sitting.

"OK, OK!" said Sarah, looking nervous, "No apples! There's bound to be other fruit, though. Oranges, grapes, hey, maybe even bananas!"

As she said it, the trees that they were sitting next to suddenly bloomed, seeded, and developed fruits. Rory put a hand to each one.

"An orange, a grape, and a banana! Cool!"

"Hang on," said Ethan, "grapes don't grow on trees."

Sarah frowned at him. "Well, I guess that's more mysterious than them just producing fruit on demand." She leaned over to Benny. "There you are. Take your pick."

He screwed up his face. "What?" asked Sarah. "You wanted food, now here's food!"

"Yeah, but _fruit_? You couldn't have asked for chocolate bars or pizza?"

"Like they were ever going to grow on a tree!" retorted Sarah, but then her eyes widened as, behind Benny, a tree went through exactly the same process as for the oranges, except that it dropped a pizza into Benny's lap.

He smiled smugly at Sarah, the edge of which was slightly dented when he was hit on the head by a bar of chocolate. When he'd picked it up, though, his smile was wider than ever. "See!" He said, already munching on his food. She sighed and rolled her eyes.

Ethan, meanwhile, was looking at an orange thoughtfully. "Why?" he asked aloud.

"Why what?" said Rory, frowning at his friend.

"Why is there all this stuff?" replied Ethan, digging his fingers violently into the orange and ripping the peel off. Sarah raised an eyebrow in amusement at his actions. He studiously ignored her. "I mean, I thought Purgatory was a place of repentance, but this seems more like –"

"Heaven!" said Benny, with a little moan of delight (slightly muffled by his pizza), choosing to re-enter the conversation as he swallowed the last bite.

"Exactly," said Ethan, delicately removing a segment of the orange and bringing it his lips. He frowned a little with distaste as he saw Benny reach up for another pizza and start tucking into it messily. "This place seems … perfect."

"Yeah, but wouldn't it get a bit boring?" asked Sarah. "I mean, just sitting here for ever and ever. This certainly _isn't_ Heaven. It's more like … a really nice waiting room."

Ethan looked around. "Yeah, I guess so…" All the distant figures did seem pretty motionless. "I wonder how long they have to stay here…" With a long breath, he finished his orange and wiped his hands on the lapel of his weird black uniform, and then stood up. "But we're not here to wait around. We've got a mountain to climb!"

Sarah and Rory sprang up, while Benny groaned. "Must we? Right now? Can I at least finish this?"

"Eat it as you walk," replied Sarah, starting off in the direction of the gate. Shrugging resignedly, and pulling off a few bars of chocolate from the overhanging tree, Benny reluctantly followed suit.

* * *

A cool breeze bore them along the fertile valley as they walked along, while the weak first rays of the dawn warmed their backs as the sun made its way over the ridge. Soon, they approached the little gate. Unlike the gate of Hell, which had been vast, yet forbidding, this tiny gate could only have let one person in at a time. If Sarah had given that much thought, she probably would have been struck by the significance of it.

Fortunately, she was spared such melancholy thoughts by the emergence of a small man from the hut by the gate. He looked oddly familiar. He looked them up and down, taking in the black clothes of Ethan and Benny and the grey robes of Sarah and Ethan.

"Do you seek admittance?" he asked, frowning.

They nodded.

"This is most irregular. Two of you should be in the depths of Hell. Two of you have no souls at all. _Three_ of you are not even dead! How do you explain this?"

Ethan, cheered somewhat by learning that he was not, after all, dead, stepped forwards.

"We don't know how we ended up in Hell. We were walking home when this mist came down. The next thing we knew, we were in Hell. We made our way out, though."

The man stroked his beard, thoughtfully. He didn't seem particularly angry with them. "_You_, though," (here he addressed Rory) "_are_ dead."

Rory nodded. "Yes, but I'd very much like not to be…"

"Hmm…" He looked searchingly at the other three. "You are not dead, and therefore you are beyond my jurisdiction. I can cast you back to the mortal world, and you can leave this place. You have, though, been given a rare glimpse of what awaits you. Prepare to return to your lives –"

"No!" the three shouted at once.

"We're not leaving without Rory!" said Ethan, determinedly. The other two nodded.

The man looked confused. "But he is already damned! He must return to his torment."

"I can't let that happen! Rory can't die! He was protecting us!" exclaimed Benny.

"He _must_. This is how things are."

"But, if we get him to the River Lethe, then he can be resurrected," argued Sarah.

The old man paused. "Yes, that is true, but the spring of the Lethe lies at the summit of this mountain, and I will not allow you to climb it. Now, leave, or you will never return to your mortal bodies!"

They drew close to Rory. "No," said Ethan, simply. "We're not going without him."

"Then I have no choice. You choose to be damned." The man lifted his hands and began to mutter something.

Suddenly, Sarah lunged at him, knocking him to the ground, and knelt on his chest. "We _will_ take Rory to the top of the mountain!" she snarled, baring her teeth.

The man remained very calm, but something unreadable changed in his face.

"You are prepared to suffer the worst of torments for attacking _me_ all so that this vampire may be restored to life?"

Sarah nodded grimly. Gathering around her, so did Ethan and Benny.

"He's our friend," said Ethan.

Suddenly, and quite unexpectedly, the man smiled. "Then, I think, I might be able to help you. If you would kindly release me?"

Frowning, Sarah got off him, and stood up, looking at him cautiously. "Why would you help us now?"

The man shrugged. "You are prepared to sacrifice everything – life and after-life – for him. I cannot ask for anything more admirable than that. There is a condition, however, if I am to let you pass."

"Go on," said Benny, warily.

"Each level purges a different sin. When you reach that which is most appropriate for you, you must endure it, and then, which his hardest of all, escape it."

Sarah glanced at the others, and then nodded. "Deal."

The man smiled kindly at them, and, producing two keys, one silver, the other gold, unlocked the little gate. "Go. Save your friend."

They passed through it, one by one. Rory was last. As he walked through, struck dumb by the actions of his friends, the man put a hand on his chest to stop him.

"You have three very good friends here, young man. Do not let them down."

Nodding silently, Rory too passed through and took his first step on the marble staircase of Purgatory, following the others up the mountain.

The old man locked the gate behind them, and watched them disappear out of sight. Had he done the right thing? He wasn't sure. He hoped that the four would survive, though.


	46. Heading Up - Part 3

**Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies**

"Well, that was easier than I expected," mused Sarah as they tramped up the long staircase.

"Isn't that a little worrying?" said Ethan, looking anxious.

"You're _paranoid_, Ethan!" exclaimed Benny, tapping his friend on the left shoulder, and then slipping round to his right. Frowning, Ethan reflexively looked to his left, then, with an exasperated sigh, turned his head back the other way.

"Very funny –"

He jumped back as he looked straight into Benny's grinning face. He hadn't realised how close he was. Stumbling on the step, Ethan fell backwards with a shout, tumbling into Rory.

Benny winced as the two of them rolled down the shiny steps a little way. "Sorry!" he called, sheepishly. They picked themselves up, and hurried, fuming, up to him, dusting down their clothes.

"_Not_ sensible, Benny!" said Ethan between clenched teeth. He rubbed the back of his head. "I could have broken something."

"Well, Rory was bound to break your fall," said Benny, airily.

"Sarah?" asked Rory. "Did that old guy seem familiar to you?"

"A bit," admitted Sarah. She looked round at Benny and Ethan. "Did either of you guys feel the same way?"

"About what?" said Benny, oddly defensive.

"About the old man at the gate."

They looked at each other and shook their heads. "I don't think he looks like anyone I've ever seen," said Ethan. "Except to the extent that all old people kind-of look the same, in my opinion."

Sarah looked thoughtful. "Who have you and I seen that Ethan and Benny haven't," she asked Rory.

"That weird wizened man that snarled at us when we were going down through Hell?" suggested Rory, after a long pause.

Sarah raised her eyebrows. "Maybe you're right. But why? That's so … odd to have the same person there and here."

"Well, there's funding cuts everywhere," quipped Ethan. He looked up in surprise. "Hey, we've reached the top of the staircase!"

"Are we here?" exclaimed Rory, excitedly.

Benny gave him a deadpan look. "Yes, of course we are, Rory, after all of ten minutes' walk."

"Good," said Rory, beaming. Benny shook his head in despair. Sarcasm just passed Rory by. Of course, in the defence of sarcasm, so did most things.

Sarah sighed and looked at the map. "This is, apparently, the first terrace. For the proud."

They looked across the flat earth, which curved around the looming mountain. Along the rocky outcrop were what looked like ants, struggling under large burdens.

"I suppose we walk around the mountain."

"Wearing pink pyjamas?" asked Benny, raising an eyebrow.

"What?" said Sarah, bemused.

"When we're coming 'round the mountain?" sand Benny.

Rolling her eyes, Sarah didn't even answer, instead choosing to stalk off in the direction of the next gate. Beneath their feet, the ground gently sloped as it curved, meaning that the terrace wasn't actually flat, but made them walk slightly uphill all the time. On reaching the first of the punished, they realised why.

"Have they all got … large rocks strapped to their backs?" whispered Ethan.

"Yeah…" murmured Sarah, looking at all the figures that were bent over so far that their heads nearly brushed against the ground.

"That's so simple, yet so effective!" said Rory, again thrilled by the appropriateness of the punishment to the crime.

Ethan and Sarah looked at him warily, but this time Benny was more understanding.

"I have to agree with Rory on this one. It really is _super_ neat!"

The four of them walked on through the field of weighed down people, all of whom were gradually becoming more humble as they walked up the slope. Every now and again, one would try to raise themselves a little, only to be overbalanced by their stone and roll back down the hill.

"Obviously pride isn't something that any of us are guilty of," commented Ethan, as they reached the next gate.

Sarah nodded. "I guess so. Lucky Erica isn't here with us, though, eh?"

They all laughed. "She'd definitely be rather flat by now!" said Benny. He looked up at the next set of steps, and groaned. "Here we go again… Going down was so much easier."

As they climbed the green pathway, Ethan looked thoughtful. "What's the difference between here and Hell?" he asked.

Sarah frowned at him as if he was stupid. "Look around, Ethan! One dark – one light. One underground – one big mountain!"

"Yes, thanks for that, Sarah," he said, rolling his eyes. "What I _meant_ was why the people _here_ aren't in Hell. What's the difference in what they've done?"

Sarah shrugged. "Maybe they felt guilty about it. The ones in Hell might not have cared."

"Yeah, maybe…" Ethan looked down. "Now, I know I might not want the answer to this, but what does the burning sand punish? You never said."

There was no reply. "It's OK, Sarah, I can handle knowing," he said, lightly, looking up. They had reached the next level, but Sarah had vanished.

"Sarah?" he called, worried. He looked back at the others, who shrugged.

"I blinked, and she was gone," said Benny, his eyes wide. "This must be the level that she's being punished on."

"I wonder what Sarah's done…" murmured Rory.

"I don't know," said Ethan, "but we're going to find her!"

"Where do you think she is?" asked Benny.

Ethan grimaced. "Sarah had the map…"

"Oops…" said Benny. "That's not good news."

"She's got to be out there somewhere," said Ethan.

They looked out at the vast grey plain, dotted with hundreds of human figures. "Yeah. Good luck with that," said Benny, raising an eyebrow.

"I know what we've got to do!" exclaimed Rory.

They looked at him. "Does it, by any chance, have anything to do with the words 'split' and 'up'?" Benny asked.

"Yeah!" Rory looked crestfallen. "How did you guess?"

"This is the kind of situation in movies, and, frankly, most of our evenings, when someone, for us usually Sarah, cheerfully suggests that we do that. Then something bad happens. I've watched enough movies to know that as a fact. And I've found whatever creepy thing we're looking for attacking me from behind enough times to know it, too."

"Don't be ridiculous," snorted Ethan. "It almost never _really_ happens like that! And, besides, what bad thing could happen to us here?"

There was a pause as they all came up with their own mental lists. Then they all looked up at once, quite pale.

"We're not splitting up," they chorused.

* * *

"Sarah?" called out Ethan; Benny and Rory repeating it at regular intervals. "Are you there?"

"All these people are wearing these huge cloaks," said Benny, exasperated. "It's impossible to tell any difference in them from a distance. Sarah!"

There was no movement among the grey figures. Ethan sighed. "We're just going to have to keep searching. She _must_ be here."

A little more walking, a little more shouting, and, at last there was some reaction.

"Can you hear something?" asked Rory, tilting his head to one side.

Ethan did the same. "No."

"Someone … crying…" Rory muttered, trying to pinpoint the sound. He twisted his head back and forth, and closed his eyes to better focus on his hearing. Benny and Ethan waited, holding their breath. Eventually, Rory opened his eyes.

"That one," he said, pointing.

They hurried over. As they neared, even Ethan and Benny could hear the sniffling and sobbing. Reaching the cloaked shape, they dragged down the hood, revealing Sarah's long, dark hair.

"Sarah?" said Ethan.

She turned, slowly, in the direction of his voice. She stumbled little, as if unsure of her footing. She raised her head, and the others took an involuntary step back in shock.

"Ethan? Benny? Rory?" asked Sarah, plaintively stretching her arms out.

The cause for their horror was plain. As Sarah turned her face towards them, they saw that her eyes were closed, with a little line of black under each one. A tear had squeezed itself under one lid, and was running slowly down her cheek. Then they realised that her eyes had been sewn shut. Sarah was completely blind.


	47. Heading Up - Part 4

**Abide with me**

"Sarah?" said Ethan, panicked. "What happened?"

"I – I don't know," replied Sarah, her voice shaking. "You were just talking to me, and then everything went black… What's wrong with me, Ethan?"

"Your – uh…" Ethan trailed off, unable to say it.

"Your eyes have been sewn up!" declared Rory. "It looks cool!"

"Rory!" hissed Ethan and Benny glaring at him, as Sarah turned very grey.

"Uh, I mean, it's –"

Sarah smiled weakly, though it was difficult to tell exactly who at. "It's OK, Rory. It's just reassuring to know that you're there, and acting the same as always."

"So, what are we going to do about the whole eye thing?" said Benny.

"Well," mused Ethan, "I think all the punishments seem to apply just to their respective levels, so we just need to get Sarah out of the next gate, and she should recover."

"I'm still here, Ethan. You don't have to refer to me in the third person."

Ethan gave her an apologetic look. She didn't see it, which he soon realised. "Er, sorry about that…"

"This way!" said Benny striding off towards the gate in the distance. Rory and Ethan followed.

"Um… Guys? _Which_ way?" said Sarah. Ethan turned back, guilty.

"Er," (He blushed) "take my arm, Sarah." He put it under hers.

"Careful, Sarah," whispered Benny, on her other side. "He'll be asking you to step out with him next. And then you'll be dancing reels, and drawing each other's profile, and maybe even writing letters."

"Hah. You're just jealous, Benny Weir."

"Am not!" he said, indignant. "He'd do the same if it were me that couldn't see!"

"And if he wouldn't, I would," said Rory, giving Benny a hug.

"Yeah…" said Benny, slowly, disentangling himself from Rory. "But let's hope it doesn't come to that, eh, Rory…?"

The three of them surrounded Sarah protectively as they shambled towards the gate. There were plenty of obstacles to avoid, and many, many things to trip over, but, oddly, Rory fell over more often than Sarah. He didn't see why they all found it so funny. At last, they reached the gate and passed through it.

Staggering a little, Sarah dropped onto the first step. Ethan knelt down by her.

"Can you see now, Sarah?" he asked, hopeful.

A little dazed, she opened her eyes, from which the threads had unravelled, and winced. "No need to be quite so close, Ethan, you're making me go cross-eyed."

He blushed, and stepped back. "Sorry."

Sarah gaze caught on the two twists of black thread on the stair. With a shake of revulsion, she jerked her head away from them, and stood up, though a little unsteadily. "Well, now I know what that's like," she said, with forced cheeriness, but it was clear that she had been unsettled by the experience. "And, I suppose, at least it's over with." She smiled wanly at them.

"OK, right, next!" declared Benny starting off up the next set of stairs, this one paved in red, Rory following swiftly behind him.

"You know that whatever's next might be your punishment!" called Sarah after them. They stopped suddenly, and Benny turned round, a worried look on his face.

"Uh, Ethan, why don't you go first?" he said, sidling back down the steps to stand behind his friend. "I'm right behind you!"

"Yeah…" said Ethan, smiling faintly, and boldly continued up the mountain.

After a while, they felt that they must be nearing the next level. "So, Sarah," said Rory, a little tactlessly, "what was that punishment for?"

Sarah looked at the map, although, inside, she already knew. "Envy."

"Envy of what?" commented Benny, with a grin. "I mean, OK, you're not quite in Erica's league, but –Ow!"

Sarah had pinched the back of Benny's neck. "Do you really want to finish that?"

"Er – no…?"

Sarah let him go. "Good." She looked a little sad. "I'm envious of you guys. Well, actually, just Benny and Ethan." Rory frowned, hurt. "Sorry, Rory," she said, quickly, "it's just that, well, they're so _normal_."

"_He_ is _not_ normal!" said Benny and Ethan at the same time, both pointing at the other. They blushed. They opened their mouths at the same time again, realised that they were probably about to say the same thing again, and then paused awkwardly, each waiting for the other to speak first.

Tired of waiting, Sarah cupped her hand over Benny's mouth. "Ethan?"

"Uh, that was weird…" he looked across at Benny, who nodded his agreement. "Why are we _normal_?"

"Well, you can have a normal life, you know, you don't drink blood, you show up in photos – normal stuff."

"Yeah, but, on the other hand, we're definitely going to die. And by the looks of it, end up in Hell."

"At least you'll be together. I'll be alone forever."

"Hey, you'll have me! And I'll have Erica!" said Rory, a little dreamily.

The other three looked at him. "Yeah…" said Benny. He looked sidelong at Sarah. "I see what you mean!" he mouthed.

Sarah sighed. "Well, I _am_ jealous of the life that you two are going to lead."

Ethan patted her on the shoulder, keenly aware of its ineffectuality. "You never know, Sarah. We might find a cure. Or, saving that, Benny and I could become vampires!"

Sarah nodded sadly, and then forced herself out of her gloom as they reached the next flat plain. "The terrace of the wrathful."

The air was filled with smoke, causing the group to cough. They could, however, see the next gate a short distance away. "This one obviously isn't for us," said Ethan, checking that the group was intact, and led them the short distance through the smoke. Around them stumbled helpless figures, clearly much more afflicted than they were. Presumably, once they had served their time, they would stumble upon the gate.

"Well, I don't know how they've overlooked your reaction every time I beat you in a game," teased Benny, as the four of them reached the gate. "I'm surprised that your controllers still work after all your little tantrums, Ethan."

Ethan pouted. "Only because you cheat!"

Benny raised an eyebrow. "Natural talent, Ethan. Well, that and magic," he said, dropping his voice.

Ethan narrowed his eyes at his friend, but said nothing.

"Oh, do stop bickering, you two!" said Sarah in an exasperated tone. She pushed them through the archway and onto the next staircase, which glinted with a strange blue light. "Honestly, it's like you're already married…"

Not noticing the slightly odd look that passed between the pair, Sarah headed on up the stairs, the others trailing in her wake.

* * *

"Sarah?" asked Ethan, panting from yet another flight of stairs. "I asked before, but then you vanished. What were Benny and I down on the burning plains for?"

"Oh, er…" she turned over the piece of paper and started to scan down the map of Hell, still climbing as she went. "Um…"

They came out on another plateau, Sarah still trying to find the right place. Then Benny looked up. "Can you hear something?"

"Yeah," said Ethan. "It sounds like … a stampede?"

"Really?" asked Rory, dubiously. "How would you even know what a stampede sounded like –"

At that moment, an enormous crowd of people rushed around the curve of the mountain, and trampled their way through the little quartet. Soon, though, they had passed on, and the bruised group picked themselves up.

"Yeah, Rory, I think that qualifies as a stampede," said Benny, drily. He looked about. "Rory?"

The three of them watched the cloud of dust disappear off into the distance.

Ethan sighed. "I guess this is Rory's stop…"


	48. Heading Up - Part 5

**Change and decay in all around I see**

"I'll catch up with him!" called Sarah, already zooming after the group. Ethan and Benny slowly followed.

"Are we really going to have to run after them?" complained Benny. "They can travel so much faster than we can."

At that, Ethan's face brightened as he had an idea. Squinting at where the dust was rising, and looking at the sets of footprints on the trampled down earth, he sat down abruptly. "No, Benny, we just wait here."

"What do you mean?" said Benny, wrinkling his brow.

"We wait for them to come round the mountain again. Provided that Rory doesn't move sideways, he should run right past us. Then we grab him."

Benny looked doubtful. "If he does move to the side, then we've got a problem."

"Well, then we just get Sarah to check every person. But I'm sure that this will work."

Benny narrowed his eyes at Ethan, but sat down next to him. "If this doesn't work, I'll…"

He trailed off. Ethan waited patiently, an amused look creeping over his face.

Biting his lip and shaking his head, Benny sighed. "Still nothing. I can think of nothing that would scare you. There's nothing worse than what we've already seen."

Ethan laughed. "I'm sure you'll think of something eventually. For now, though, I'm quite happy for you to be at a loss." He smothered a yawn. "This waiting could get dull. Any idea what could we do until they could come back?"

Benny grinned. "Oh, _I_ can think of a few things we could do…"

"Like what?" asked Ethan, sharply.

"I-Spy?" suggested Benny, his face expressionless.

* * *

"…Mountain?"

"Yep," said Benny.

"Uh, something beginning with…" Ethan looked around. He sighed. "…'M'?"

"Mountain."

Ethan nodded.

"OK, something beginning with, er, 'M –" said Benny, bored.

"Why don't you try 'S'?" interrupted a tired voice.

"Sarah!" they cried, turning to see her.

She was doubled over, wheezing. "I couldn't catch up with him. He's going too fast for me." She frowned. "What are you two doing?"

"Waiting for Rory to come back round. We'll trip him up or something when he comes past," explained Ethan.

"In the meantime, we're playing I-spy, though there's not a lot to look at, really," chipped in Benny. "Do you want a turn, Sarah?"

"All right then, how about something beginning with 'M –"

"No!" they both shouted.

"- I hadn't finished! 'MCOSPOWOMBR'"

"What?" said Ethan, his brow furrowed in confusion. Benny tugged on his sleeve, making him look the other way, towards the massive crowd of stampeding people, of whom one might be Rory.

"Right. Er… get ready to dive in front of people!"

The crowd neared. "How are we going to know which is which?" asked Benny.

"There's only one dressed in grey," pointed out Ethan.

"Also," commented Sarah, "there's also only one way out ahead of the rest, moving at about five times the speed."

"Well, yeah, but he _is_ the only one in grey," retorted Ethan, a little put out. He watched as the blurred figure of Rory got closer and closer. "OK, grab him!"

They all dived forwards at once. Benny missed entirely, Ethan only managed to grab onto Rory's shoe, but Sarah managed to tackle his legs, and brought him to the ground. Ethan and Benny picked themselves up, and pinned Rory down, while his legs still moved in a frantic blur.

"Rory!" said Sarah. "Stop running!"

"I can't!" he exclaimed, looking exhausted, and quite worried. He stared down at his legs. "It's like they've got a mind of their own!"

"I'm glad some part of you has…" muttered Benny.

"What?" said Rory, brightly. Benny smiled.

"Nothing, Rory, nothing. Come on. Let's get you to the next gate, before –" He looked round at the approaching mob. "Uh, before we get flattened."

Between them, they dragged Rory to the next gate, just avoiding the first of the runners. His legs still twitching feebly, Rory lay back, panting, in front of the next staircase.

"Better now?" asked Ethan.

Rory nodded, and, after a while, sat up. "OK. I'm ready to go." He went to stand up. "Ah. My legs don't seem to be working anymore." He looked up at them anxiously. "What am I going to do? I'll be stuck here forever!"

"You can fly, Rory," said Ethan, with a sigh.

"Oh, of course!" With a little concentration, Rory bobbed up to a little above his normal height, his legs dangling uselessly beneath him. "Meet you at the top!" he called, zooming upwards.

Ethan and Benny took a few weary steps onto the yellow stairway. "Lucky Rory…" murmured Ethan, staring up at the enormous distance. "Eh, Sarah?" He looked around for her. "Sarah?"

"Sorry guys," she said, from above their heads.

Benny and Ethan looked up, and groaned. Sarah was floating above them. "You're just going to leave us to climb this ourselves, then?" complained Benny.

"Yep," she said, cheerily. "See you later!"

With that, she was gone. The pair of them watched her disappear into growing gloom, which indicated, to their surprise that it was already getting darker on the mountain. They began to climb again.

Benny looked at Ethan. "I-spy?"

"Just guessing, but are the answers stairs, stairs, stairs, stairs, stairs…"

* * *

"What took you so long?" asked Sarah, leaning against a rock at the next circle.

"Well," puffed Ethan, between gasps for breath, "Benny and I thought that we'd stop for a dinner and a movie –"

"What, like a date?" grinned Sarah.

Ethan scowled at her, but before he could reply, Rory interrupted, beaming. "Is there a cinema here! So cool!" He seemed about to run off down the stairs to look for it, but Benny held up a hand.

"No, Rory, Ethan was being sarcastic."

"Oh." Rory looked crushed. "Are you sure? No restaurant either?"

"No."

"Well, you and Ethan will just have to go out on your date when we get back," continued Rory, undaunted.

"Yeah…" said Ethan, distantly, feeling that he'd somewhat lost track of the conversation. He shook himself. "Where are we?" he asked Sarah.

"The fifth cornice of the avaricious. Look."

Ethan's eyes followed where she pointed. The entire space was covered with bodies, grasping feverishly at the dirt. Only a short distance away was the next gate.

"It looks like we have to walk over them."

"Couldn't you fly us?" asked Benny.

Sarah shook her head. "That power has just vanished. It seems that these people have to be walked over."

"Oh. Well, let's get it over with, then," said Ethan.

He took a first step, and there was a first groan. "Sorry!" he said, for the first time.

Several hundred steps, groans and apologies later, they reached the next gate, and the purple set of steps that lay beyond it. There, Sarah and Rory found that their powers had been restored, and, with sympathetic, but also slightly smug, grins, they flew up towards the next level. Ethan and Benny resignedly started on their next climb.

* * *

"Why couldn't they just have carried us?" moaned Ethan as he saw Rory and Sarah waiting above them. "They were able to in Hell!" He looked around in the gathering darkness. "Benny?" he called. No answer. Oh dear. "Benny!" he cried, more worried.

"Yeah?" came a voice at his shoulder. Ethan glanced at Benny from the corner of his eye. "I bet I had you worried then, didn't I?"

Ethan threw him a look as they came level with Rory and Ethan.

"What have you two been arguing about?" asked Sarah coolly.

"Nothing…" replied Benny, his eyes quickly moving past her and lighting on something. "Ooh! Pizza!"

Pushing past them, he hurried on to a strange low bench. On it, to the great surprise of all of them, were a variety of different pizzas. Benny was already happily tucking in. Ethan looked sharply at Sarah. "Uh…"

She shrugged. "They weren't here a minute ago."

"This is _awesome_," said Benny, between slurps. "I was suddenly really hungry there, and now there's all this food! Look, Ethan, this one's a pizza, topped with a pizza, topped with _another_ pizza! The best _ever_!"

"Benny…" started Ethan, a concerned expression on his face, but Benny had already ploughed through it, and was describing the next one.

"Bubble-gum and marshmallow pizza! Cool!"

Before Ethan had time to process that, there was another on the go. "This one isn't a pizza at all, but chocolate _shaped_ like pizza."

"Uh… I don't think –" Sarah began to say.

"Cola flavoured! – Jam! – well, that one's kind-of weird – Ice cream!"

"Benny!" shouted Ethan, trying to break through to him, while Benny had his head bent over his seventh pizza. "Aren't you eating an awful lot?"

"Well, maybe, but I'm starving! In fact I feel hungrier now than I did before!"

He looked up and grinned at them. And then the grin kept on getting wider, causing the other three to step back in horror. He looked bemusedly at them from deepening eye sockets, rapidly bringing food to his increasingly toothy mouth as they remained frozen in shock.

With every bite, his face grew nearer and nearer to resembling an emaciated skull.


	49. Heading Up - Part 6

**Where, grave, thy victory?**

"Benny, just stop eating!" cried Ethan, desperately.

"But – but I'm so hungry!" moaned Benny, reaching for yet more food, the flesh withering from his face even as he spoke.

Without a moment's hesitation, Rory and Sarah grabbed Benny and forcibly dragged him away. As he lay on the ground, they realised that there was no danger of him fighting back, while the rapid change in his condition startled them. Benny's arms and legs were already little more than bones, while his clothes had completely collapsed in on themselves. His skin was taut over his skeleton and even his hair was receding. Now that he was no longer eating the food, it had, at least, stopped getting worse, but Benny was so weak that he could hardly move. As he was taken away from the food, all the remaining energy seemed to drain from him, and he dropped into unconsciousness.

Between them, the remaining three carried him the short distance to the next gate. The skeletal boy felt as light as a feather. His now loose clothes flapped about him, exposing his concave stomach and each well-defined rib. The three of them felt sick at seeing him like this – from so energetic and cheerful to this deathly husk.

They reached the gate and passed through it. Setting him down on the vast black step beyond, he seemed a corpse in a mausoleum, decayed and desiccated. They waited in anxious silence, Ethan clasping the long bones of Benny's hand tightly. "Come on, Benny…" whispered Ethan, rocking back and forth.

Slowly, Benny's body started to change. The gaps between his ribs filled in, and his belly visibly inflated back to its normal size and shape. His arms grew thicker, while his legs filled out his trousers again. His face fattened back to normal, and he even seemed to rise a little off the slab as his whole body swelled. Soon, to their great relief, the familiar bumps, curves and contours of Benny had returned, and he looked as plump with health as ever.

His eyes flickered open, and he smiled weakly. "What are you all looking at?" he said, pulling his top down over his tummy. Pale and shaking with relief, Ethan flung his arms around him.

"Benny!" he sobbed.

Benny grimaced, and gently patted Ethan's shoulder. This was an unusual display of affection for Ethan, so from that he gathered that whatever had happened to him had been seriously. "It's – good to know that you – care – Ethan, but you are – crushing – me – slightly! Also, this is getting slightly awkward, and I'm sure that Sarah and Rory would like a turn."

With an embarrassed flush, Ethan hurriedly released his friend, and simply stared gratefully down at him. Benny sat up and looked about. "Anyone got anything to eat?" he said hopefully.

They all groaned. "You really don't learn, do you?" asked Sarah, ruefully. "Come on, we're nearly at the final level. We'll hopefully be home soon."

Benny got carefully to his feet. He glanced at Sarah. "_Please_ can you fly me up?"

Sarah grinned. "I thought you'd never ask. Come on." She supported him under the arms, while Rory did the same to Ethan, and they all whizzed up past the shining black staircase.

* * *

Once there, they realised that they were at the very highest level of the mountain, while a slope led up to the very peak. Looking back at the enormous distance that they had climbed, they found that they could see no further than fifty or so feet down, for night had now completely closed over the mountain. Above them, the first of the stars were twinkling in the sky, extending brilliantly all the way to the distant, empty horizon.

They looked towards the only source of light. Crowning the mountain was a wreath of orange fire, blazing furiously in the darkness. They walked towards the flames, Sarah carefully studying the map.

"So. Benny was, obviously, Gluttony, and, since we're at the final level, this must be for you, Ethan. Lust."

"My, my," said Rory, with a leer, "What have you done, Ethan?"

Ethan just looked confused. "I don't understand…"

Benny grinned. "Well, you'll have to confess Ethan. Either that or you're absolutely perfect and without blemish, which, knowing you as long as I have, I doubt. Care to tell us of your lustful desires?" He glanced significantly at Sarah.

Ethan frowned. "I – I –"

"It's nothing to be ashamed of, Ethan. We've all been guilty of something. Though, if I'm being totally honest, lust doesn't seem like you," commented Sarah. "You're so … controlled."

"Yeah. And you must have ended up in Hell for some reason," reasoned Rory.

"But I haven't been taken away. Nothing's happened to me," argued Ethan.

"True," said Sarah, "but the top of the mountain lies through this ring of fire. I'm guessing that we'll be able to pass through it unharmed, but _you_ might have more trouble."

She looked at Benny and Rory. "Ready?"

"Hey!" cried Ethan. "What about you two and Erica? Doesn't that count?"

"It's obviously not our biggest fault," said Benny, who then boldly walked through the fire. He giggled. "That tickles!"

Rory and Sarah followed him, also unscathed. In Sarah's hand, the map flared brightly, turning to ash. Ethan hovered, nervously, outside.

"You have to come through, Ethan," said Sarah, commandingly.

"Yeah, come on, it'll only hurt a bit," said Rory. He looked thoughtful. "Or a lot. To be fair, I have no way of knowing."

Benny said nothing, but raised his hand and held it through the flames. He opened his palm to Ethan encouragingly. With a gulp of fear, Ethan grasped his best friend's hand and stepped into the inferno.

A long, tortured scream was ripped from his lips. It was only a couple of steps, but it felt like an eternity of pain. Every nerve in Ethan's body writhed in agony, while, from the outside, he appeared to dissolve into tendrils of flame. Even his eyes seemed like two gouts of fire.

On the other side, he collapsed, gibbering into Benny's arms. Crying and shivering, he clung to Benny like he was the only thing keeping him alive. Eventually, after a series of racking sobs, he quietened down.

"Hey, hey," said Benny, soothingly, rubbing his hand across his friend's forehead. "It's OK. We're here, and you're going to be alright." Nodding limply, Ethan kept holding onto Benny as they turned away from the fire and looked with Sarah and Benny towards the rocky pinnacle of the mountain.

Rory looked at the sorry figure of Ethan. "You know, this might sound stupid, but I think that this place is _worse_ than Hell."

Sarah nodded, unconsciously rubbing her eyes. "I get what you mean, Rory… But we'll soon be out of here."

With a great effort, Ethan pulled himself together, and stared fixedly at the little mound. "Shall we?" he said, in a cracked voice.

Slowly, they approached the small pile of stones that capped Mount Purgatory. Out of it babbled a thin trickle of water, a strange milky white.

"The River Lethe," said Sarah. "It's nowhere near as impressive as you'd imagine."

"Mmm, but it's what it does that's important," said Ethan, hobbling towards it on Benny's arm. He looked at Rory, who knelt down by the spring. "Are you sure?"

Very serious, Rory looked straight at him. "This is my only chance." He cupped his hands and caught a little water. With a last, hopeful, glance at his friends, he drank.

His eyes slid shut. He started to twitch, and this became more and more violent. In his chest, the stake seemed to shift and glow, while the caked black blood bubbled outwards, mixing with the Lethe. Then, before their eyes, Rory's body was surrounded by an intense white light, which forced them to turn their heads. When they looked back, blinking the spots from their eyes, Rory had entirely disappeared.

"Did it work –" began Benny, before a terrible rumble resounded across the mountain. The ground shook, and the night sky above them was ripped in two by an enormous streak of light. Before them, the spring of the Lethe trembled, and then collapsed in on itself, crumbling down into the vast mountain. Where it had stood was now a deep crater, from whose expanding edge the three of them had to scurry back from.

They looked down into it. They could see nothing in it. It was just a shaft stretching down an unfathomable distance in the mountain, and, perhaps, beyond.

Pale, the three of them stared at each other. "How do we get out of here now?" asked Benny, panicky. "The Lethe's gone!"

Sarah looked about her. "This is really a bit over-dramatic, don't you think?"

"Yeah, like the whole thing hasn't been rather melodramatic from the start," said Benny, with a scorn that did little to mask his fear.

Ethan stared down into the abyss. "Well…" he said, eventually, "Since this place seems to run on the dramatic, how about one last grand gesture to get us out of here?"

Benny looked at the pit and backed away. "On, no, not if you're thinking what I think you're thinking!"

Sarah's eyes widened. "Are you sure, Ethan?"

"What other way is there? We're not really dead, so doing something impossible should break us out, right?"

Sarah frowned. "That doesn't really add up."

Ethan grimaced. "I know, but I just _feel_ like this is what we have to do."

In a shaking voice, Sarah reluctantly agreed. "OK. So we jump."

Ethan nodded. "Benny?"

His friend turned resignedly to him. "If this doesn't work, Ethan, I'll –"

Ethan raised an eyebrow, expecting another failed threat.

" – I'll _kiss_ you."

Ethan blanched. He hadn't expected that. "OK. Er – yuck – well, that's enough of a disincentive…" He looked at Benny warily. "But, I guess, if it doesn't work, we'll be dead."

"Well, then," said Benny coolly. "You'd better watch out in Hell, because I'll humiliate you in front of all the other damned souls."

"Quite finished?" said Sarah. She held out her right hand. "We may as well go together."

Ethan put his hand on top of hers, while Benny took it from below.

"Ready?" asked Ethan. Benny shook his head.

"Tough." The three of them launched themselves into space, dropping and dropping into the blackness.

* * *

Ethan groaned and rubbed his head. He was lying next to a street-light staring up at the night sky. The familiar, light-polluted _Whitechapel_ night sky. He smiled to himself. There was no way that they would have ended up in Heaven, was there? Just as a brief reward? Oh, well. He was back. It would do. He sat up, rubbing at the curious damp oval on his forehead. Had he hit his head on something?

Looking about him, he saw Benny leaning against the lamppost. To Ethan's amusement, he was munching on something. Benny saw his look and blushed.

"I was hungry!"

A laugh from behind him alerted him to Sarah's presence. Ethan got up to see her standing a little way behind him. He frowned, concerned.

"Where's Rory?"

Sarah shrugged. "This must have been where we were when we were transported to Hell. See, our bags are here. I presume Rory will have woken up where he died."

"My house?" said Ethan. Sarah nodded.

Ethan started to stride off in the direction of home, but suddenly felt a chill. He looked down. He was back in his swimming shorts from – who knew how long – earlier.

"Here," called Benny, throwing him his towel. Ethan gratefully wrapped it around himself and they set off through the chill summer's night.

"What day is it, do you think?" asked Benny. Sarah shook her head.

"No idea. We could be in trouble."

The three of them exchanged glances, and then laughed. "I think we might be able to bear that," said Ethan.

They approached his house. On the path, they could see a still figure. At a run, they drew up to it.

Rory lay spread-eagled on the concrete, a long gash in his black clothes. Beside him was a wooden stake, absolutely clean. He was just waking up.

"Hi guys," he said, smiling weakly. "I'm not dead!" He fingered the rent at his chest, feeling the knobbly scar over his heart. The other three saw it in the moonlight.

"Not many vampires with _that_ scar, eh, Rory?" said Ethan.

He nodded, and was about to say something else when a light went on in Ethan's house.

"Ah," said Sarah. "This could be awkward…"

"Bye!" hissed Benny, already hurrying across the street. Sarah and Rory flashed away, leaving Ethan alone, and only partially dressed, on his doorstep. The door swung open.

"Ethan Morgan!" came a screech that roused most of the neighbourhood. "Where the hell have you been for the last _three days_?"

Smiling despite himself, Ethan tottered wearily forwards. "You don't know the half of it…" he murmured, asleep at his mother's feet before he'd even finished the sentence.


	50. Episode 9 - Spell It Out

**Episode 9 begins here. Thanks for all the reviews so far, and I hope that you'll continue to make them, as they are greatly appreciated!**

* * *

Spell It Out

* * *

**The sea is calm to-night**

Ethan woke late the next morning. After everything that had happened over the last few days, it was a miracle that it still _was_ the morning, but, as it happened, it was just the right side of noon. Yawning, he found himself tipped onto his side on top of the bedclothes, and still dressed only in his swimming shorts. He didn't remember going to bed, so his parents must have carried him up.

At that thought, he winced. He recalled how angry his mum had been when she had opened the door. This was going to be difficult to explain. Ethan groaned. He had a strong suspicion that his summer had just evaporated. Miserable, he flopped over onto his back and scowled at the ceiling. It wasn't fair…

Ethan sniffed. The last few days had really clung to him, leaving behind a peculiar bouquet of fish, sulphur, and ash. Reluctantly rolling off of his bed and onto his feet, he wandered through to his shower, and allowed himself to relax in the luxury of finally getting clean.

Soon, he was dressed, as usual, in a t-shirt and trousers, and, knowing that he couldn't put it off any longer (the clock now having drifted past a guilty midday), left his room to face his parents. He couldn't avoid them forever. A wave of memory at the last time he'd been in trouble flooded through him.

Ah. He could try, though…

Maybe he would just sneak into the kitchen, get something to eat, and then slip out. If he made it to Benny's house, he might be safe there. Ethan started down the stairs, padding softly in his socks. He almost made it to the bottom, when there was a loud creak as he shifted his weight. He flinched, pressing himself up against the wall, as if hoping that he could melt into it.

As the kitchen door opened, though, he knew that he was in for it. He essayed an ingratiating smile. He failed dismally.

"Ethan," said his mum, coolly. "Back among the living, I see. Going out?"

"Uh…"

"I didn't think so. In here. _Now_."

She held open the kitchen door while a shamefaced Ethan walked through it, painfully aware of Jane watching him from the living room and grinning with glee. It ran through his head that his sister took an almost sadistic pleasure in seeing him in trouble. There was definitely something wrong with her, he was sure.

Inside, his dad was sitting at the kitchen table. They had clearly been waiting for him to come down. He glanced at the clock. For how long? His late appearance was probably not a good start. His mum indicated the seat opposite, and then sat down next to his dad.

"We need to talk," she said. His dad nodded.

Ethan waited in silence for the explosion. He wasn't wrong.

* * *

Flinging himself angrily onto his bed so hard that he almost bounced off again, Ethan fumed, his face a blotchy red. Tears of angry humiliation filled his eyes. He was grounded. Until the end of recorded time, apparently. He thumped the bed with clenched fists and bit his lip in frustration.

He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror, and realised how childish he looked. Well, if he was still enough of a kid to be confined to the house, then he was still young enough to indulge in a tantrum, he reasoned, moodily.

Putting his hands behind his head Ethan glared at the ceiling and recalled what had gone on downstairs.

First of all, it was important to understand that they weren't angry with him. No. They were _disappointed._ But disappointed in quite a shouty way that certainly looked like anger from where Ethan sat. Which was just within spitting range.

Secondly, they had been primarily been _worried_ about him for disappearing. Now it seemed that on his return, they were angr – sorry, _disappointed_ – with him. It appeared that, for Ethan, he was only disappointing once he had returned. Which seemed somewhat counter-intuitive.

Next came what they believed to be the reason for his vanishing act. They thought that he'd spent the time going to various wild parties, drinking and, well, that's as far as their imagination stretched. Or wanted to stretch, for a fifteen year old, at any rate. When Ethan had tried to protest, they had brought up the issue of the vomit covered t-shirt. He'd reckoned that 'a monster in the lake threw me in it' probably wasn't going to help him much. That would probably lead them to think that he'd been taking things stronger than alcohol.

It was at that point that Ethan just decided to accept whatever was coming to him. There was no way that he could tell them the truth, and they would certainly never have believed it if he had. He would just accept whatever they wanted him to have done. In fact, 'Oh, by the way, our babysitter's a vampire, Benny's a wizard, I can see the future and we've all just come back from a day trip to Hell in order to resurrect Rory," wouldn't really have convinced him either. So now, in the eyes of his parents, he was now an under-age drinker who partied for days and came home half-naked and barely conscious. Like they saw on the TV all the time, apparently.

Ethan laughed to himself hollowly. There were some kids who _wanted_ that kind of reputation. And no-one would ever believe that it was now his.

He'd sat and listened to the tirade. Then they had moved on to his friends.

It was strongly hinted that they would be having similar conversations with their parents now. Ethan doubted it: Benny's grandma could probably have given them tips on surviving the after-life, Sarah was a pretty good liar, and also nearly an adult, while Rory's parents probably hadn't noticed him missing. His parents, though, were determined to separate Ethan from them. Sarah was to be blacklisted as a babysitter forever, and they had taken away his phone to stop him calling Benny and Rory. He still had his computer, and, since he was the only one who knew how to control the internet provision, he was probably safe with that. As for him, he wasn't allowed to leave the house without one of his parents. There was no end date given, but the implication was that this would extend well into the school term.

Eventually, he had been dismissed, with mutterings of "disgrace", "disappointment", and "hopefully not falling into a pattern". Jane had watched him slope off up to his room, and grin stretched impossibly widely over her face.

Ethan clenched his fists again. All this, for something he couldn't tell them! Well, it looked like this was going to be a summer of sulking in his room in his pyjamas. He didn't even intend leaving for meals. Just like any other summer, then, he thought, ruefully. But, this time, no Benny and no Rory.

Getting up, he drew the curtains, taking his room into darkness. Now he was ready for a good long mope at the injustice of everything – particularly the supernatural. He wasn't even going to try and circumvent his parents. He was fed up. Well, Whitechapel would have to survive without him. Only five weeks until school started again…

* * *

And so, for the next month, Ethan kept strictly to what he was terming his 'passive resistance'. He didn't set one foot over the threshold of his bedroom door, mostly staying huddled up on is bed, miserable. He even surprised himself at the sheer tenacity of his sulk. He ate all his meals from a tray, and refused even to answer the window when Rory or Sarah knocked at night-time. In his anger, he couldn't help directing some of it at them, and refused point-blank to communicate. Benny would send the occasional message to try and keep him company, but Ethan, though sorely tempted, never answered, preferring to bottle up his resentment.

It was because of this that Ethan didn't see any of the strange things that started to happen in the house. Shut away in his cave, he was unaware of the floating forks, the walls changing colour, and even Jane's hair starting to glow in the dark. Incidentally, neither did his parents, but they did notice that their daughter was becoming more reserved, sometimes barely speaking for days on end. They would have been alarmed, had Jane not always appeared happy and smiling all the time. Even in her sleep.

Had they looked more closely, though, they would have seen that Jane's eyes were dull, and, subtly, continually changing in hue.

But no-one did.


	51. Spell It Out - Part 2

**A land of dreams**

Ethan woke with yell of pain and fright. Breathing heavily, he checked himself over to make sure that there wasn't a torrent of fire coursing through his body and sank back down onto his damp pillow. He turned over to his back and wiped the sweat from his brow. Those dreams had been fairly regular now ever since – well, since he'd come back from rescuing Rory. Every night, and usually more than once in a night, he vividly recalled the feeling of being in the fire. It had grown so frequent that he now slept face down in an attempt to muffle his inevitable shout so that he wouldn't disturb anyone.

He knew that his memories were strong; part of his abilities as a Seer. This, though, felt different to either his normal dreams, or even his visions. This felt _real_. Every time it happened he fully expected to be on fire, and, a few times, had even been sure that his fingertips had still been burning when he woke up. Once, he'd even smelled the unmistakable reek of burning hair, if only for a moment. He had no idea why it was happening, and, for the moment, he was just hoping that it would eventually go away. He didn't think that that was a sustainable plan.

He looked about his room. Maybe he shouldn't have cooped himself up in here for so long. Maybe he should get some light, some air, some exercise. Some uninterrupted sleep would be nice, he thought. Switching his light on, he looked at himself in the mirror across the room. He winced at the fairly unflattering reflection. He definitely needed all of those things. Rubbing his darkly ringed eyes, he stared dully ahead. But he couldn't do them. Or he would undermine his whole campaign against being grounded. If he acted as normal around the house, that would indicate that he accepted his punishment – and, by extension, the guilt. He didn't (since, he reasoned, he _hadn't_ done what his parents accused him of), and so he would have to stay in this way until his parents backed down.

A wiser part of his brain told the rest that this was very stupid, and that, since it seemed to be making him ill, he should relinquish his pride and just stop sulking. Ethan was in no mood to listen to it, though, and was determined to see this through until the promised 'end of recorded time'. A throbbing headache developing, Ethan switched off the light and tried to go back to sleep.

* * *

As it turned out, recorded time ended far sooner than Ethan expected. This may or may not have been the result of Benny's grandmother visiting his parents the previous evening. She expressed her concern at Ethan's recent behaviour, and, while not condoning the offense (about which she, of course, knew the truth), she offered her advice that the punishment was doing Ethan more harm than good. She commented that, in breaking off all contact with the outside world, Ethan may be in danger of withdrawing into himself, and hinted that this behaviour, if continued, might lead to him into more trouble.

Having already mostly made up their minds to relent over what they considered Ethan's act of 'foolishness', this pushed his parents to decide to end his punishment, and allow him out of the house again. Benny's grandmother asserted (not entirely truthfully) that she, and Sarah's and Rory's parents had all impressed upon their children the dangers of their actions, and were convinced that there would be no repeat. After a month of not seeing him, Ethan's mum and dad were getting concerned about their reclusive son and readily agreed to Benny's grandmother's suggestion that all mention of the incident was to be avoided.

On leaving, Benny's grandmother had looked up towards the blacked out windows of Ethan's self-imposed cell. She had been worried about his response to what he had experienced. The other three had displayed some problems following their return: Rory had been morbidly staring at his chest for hours on end; Sarah had intermittent periods of believing herself to be blind; while Benny had shuttled between ravenous overeating and then days of avoiding meals. She had managed to help them all, but knew that Ethan's problem, whatever it might be, would be exacerbated by the month he had spent apart. Judging by his total withdrawal from everyone, even Benny, she did not think that he was handling it well.

She shivered. There had been an air in that house, though, and it had had nothing to do with Ethan.

* * *

When Ethan woke, again with flames behind his eyes, once he recovered himself, he saw a folded piece of paper pushed under his door. Hauling himself out of bed, he picked it up, and then sat down to read it.

_Ethan,_

_We have decided that your punishment had gone on long enough. From now on, you are no longer grounded, and we will never speak again of what happened this summer. We'll start a clean slate, as if it never happened._

_Mum and Dad._

_P.S. Ethan, _please_ come down!_

Ethan stared down at the note, flicking it idly against his tummy. Well, that seemed like an end of it. It was as near as he was going to get to an acknowledgement of his innocence. He paused, considering his next action. His stomach rumbled. That settled it. Throwing open the door, Ethan traipsed downstairs for breakfast.

His parents were clearly surprised to see him, as well as with his dishevelled, and, in truth, slightly unhealthy appearance, but, to his relief, they said nothing different than if he'd just come downstairs after a normal night. Settling himself on a chair, Ethan was glad that they had all decided to revert to normality.

On finishing his breakfast, there was a knock at the door. Yawning, Ethan shambled through to answer it.

"Benny!" he said, startled, and blinking in the unaccustomed light.

"Hi, Ethan!" replied his friend, brightly. "Been keeping well?"

Before Ethan had a chance to reply, Benny had quickly looked him up and down and answered for him: "Obviously not. Never mind. Do you know what day it is?"

"Uh…" Ethan just stood blankly in the doorway, at a complete loss.

"The 30th of August? The day that you, me, and Rory arranged to go to the sci-fi convention in Toronto. Remember?"

Ethan stared at him, his mouth open and closing slowly.

"You really have been out of it, haven't you, Ethan? That's what comes of sitting in your room for a month," said Benny, sternly.

Slowly, comprehension dawned on Ethan's face. "But… I was grounded…" he said eventually.

"Not anymore!" grinned Benny. "Don't worry, Ethan, it's all been settled. You're going to come with me and Rory to Toronto, stay the night there like we planned, and then, when we come back, you'll stay over with me for the remaining couple of days until school starts."

"Oh…" said Ethan, realising that his life had already been organised for him.

"I'll take that as a 'yes', then. Right, we'd better get you out of public view while you're in _that_ state, and the bus leaves in fifteen minutes, so off you go to get dressed and pack some clothes."

"Hmm…?" murmured Ethan, looking bewildered.

Benny sighed, spun Ethan around and frogmarched him up the stairs to his room before he had a chance to respond.

On entering, Benny looked around the darkened room. He whistled. "No wonder you've turned into Ethan the pasty ghost. No natural light." He looked critically at the Ethan-shaped hollow in the middle of the bed. "Did you get out of bed _at all_ in the last month?" he said, despairingly. He held up a hand. "Don't waste time answering."

Benny strode about the room, pulling back the curtains and flinging open the windows. As light and air filled the room for the first time in weeks, Ethan looked a little embarrassed at the mess. Even Benny was impressed. "Wow, Ethan. And to think that you used to get all your socks to point the same way in their drawer." His head snapped up to look at his friend. "You've got to get back to normal, Ethan! It's really weird when _I'm_ the tidy, responsible one."

Ethan just smiled weakly.

Benny wrenched open Ethan's wardrobe. "Now, Ethan, you've got ten minutes before we get out of here. Hurry up and have a shower! I'm going to stay here and pack for you while you wash and dress."

Ethan hesitated.

"Go!"

"OK, OK, but, er, Benny, can I at least take some underwear to change into in the bathroom?"

Deftly, Benny flicked open a drawer and threw a pair at Ethan. "Happy now?"

Ethan nodded and disappeared into the bathroom. Benny threw things at random into a bag. "That's mine… That's mine. That's _Sarah's_… He really should sort out his laundry system…" he murmured.

A moment later, Ethan's head and bare shoulders appeared round the door again. There was a frown on his face.

"How did you know _exactly_ where my underwear was?"

Benny flushed. "Ethan! Eight minutes!"

* * *

With a minute to spare, Benny, Rory, and a damp Ethan boarded the bus, having waved goodbye to his parents and Jane. As Ethan looked back out of the window, he was sure that he saw Jane flicker orange out of the corner of his eye. He would have looked again, but Benny roped him into an argument over which the best Star Wars droid he was having with Rory, and Ethan dismissed it as a trick of the light.

* * *

That evening, it being Friday, Ethan's mum and dad were going out, and, though Ethan had been forgiven, Sarah was still suspended from babysitting. They were, then, talking to their new babysitter.

"Jane?" they called. No answer.

"I'm sorry," said Ethan's mum apologetically. "She's not usually this unsociable."

"That might make your job easier!" joked Ethan's dad, as they headed out the door.

Their new babysitter smiled.

"Yeah, maybe," said Erica, turning away and wandering through to the living room. Putting her feet up on the sofa, she relaxed. She fully expected this to be an easy night.

Behind her, the kitchen burned with green flames.


	52. Spell It Out - Part 3

**So various, so beautiful, so new**

Erica switched on the TV. So far, no massive supernatural explosion. She didn't know what Sarah was worried about, and had given her all the warnings over. It was the nerd and his friends that were the problem, and, frankly, were the ones that needed babysitting; the little sister was OK. And, fortunately for her (and them) the nerds had all left town for the day. She didn't think that she could have coped stuck around the three of them. It was lucky, really, that Sarah had taken her place as the babysitter on that week-end they had become vampires, or, well…

Erica shuddered. Long periods of time spent with Benny _and_ Rory. One ogling her most of the day (although he had seemed less interested in her, of late) and the other flying after her at night was bad enough, but both of them together? Plus the _slightly_ more normal geek – who, judging by recent behaviour, was rapidly losing that mark of difference –? Not going to happen.

She flicked through the channels, bored, pausing at the local news. Fireworks display … freak hailstorm … fatal bus crash … new mummy exhibit in the museum … dork festival goes without a hitch…

Erica sighed and switched off the TV, closing off the footage of various aliens, monsters and spacemen. Last year, she had been that soldier. Or had it clashed with the Dusk fan club outing? She couldn't remember, but made a mental note to check when the next meeting was. Once a fan, always a fan, she mused. Then she frowned.

Was it her, or was Jane awfully quiet this evening? She'd had good, quiet kids to look after before, but none that made no sound at all. She couldn't hear any creaking of floorboards – and she had exceptionally good hearing.

Staring at the ceiling, Erica raised an eyebrow. Why was it flickering with an odd green light? And, now she thought about it, why was everything in the room doing it too? She snapped her head around, looking for the source of the light. Her mouth formed an 'o' of disbelief. Why was the kitchen on _fire_? And why was it _green_? Flinging herself over the sofa, she rushed over and tried to bat down the flames with a tea towel, oblivious to the possible damage to her fingernails – it was that serious. Letting the kitchen catch fire would probably not go down well, and might just jeopardise her nomination for 'Babysitter of the Year'. And her campaign had been going _so_ well. She'd only had to intimidate four people…

Erica frowned. Why wasn't the fire going out? Waving her hand through it, she realised that it wasn't even hot. In fact, nothing was actually burning. There were just green flames dancing on every surface. That was odd… _But_, if there was no danger of any damage, it wasn't her problem!

Cheerful at that thought, Erica shrugged carelessly and wandered back to the living room and searched through the drawers for a DVD. Nothing of interest at all. Until she found a locked box with '_Ethan's – Keep Out!'_ written on it. Yeah, OK, then. With a twitch, she broke it open. She laughed aloud at what she saw. Inside were copies of all the Dusk films. If the nerd got found out, he'd even be kicked out of his circle of geek friends. Her smile widened wickedly. But, then again, _she_ like Dusk, and, well, if he was a fellow fan, then…

She shivered. She was going to have to be nice to him and not spread this about. Pouting with disappointment, Erica selected one at random, and went back to the sofa to watch it.

After a while, though, she found that she couldn't concentrate on the film. There was a nagging feeling in the back of her head. She kept thinking about the unnatural fire, and how she should probably do something about it. The thought wouldn't go away, and it seemed to get louder and more persistent whenever she tried to lose herself in the (trite and horribly clichéd) plot. It was like having Sarah stuck inside her head. The thoughts were even starting to sound like her. Snarling with frustration, Erica finally switched off the film and jerked to her feet. Fine. She would sort this problem out. On her own.

She wandered through to the kitchen to investigate. OK. So, green fire. It really clashed with most of the kitchen. She wrinkled her nose at that. To her surprise, when she investigated, she found that she could scoop some of the flames up in her hand and pour them through her fingers. That was really weird. Quite pleasant, though, and not at all life threatening. That was a nice change from what she had expected. Idly, she wondered whether she could carry some in a spoon. Just for fun.

Pulling open the cutlery drawer, she had no time to react before half a dozen knives jumped out of the drawer and stuck themselves into her. "_Ow!_" she whined, blocking the forks that followed. The spoons made a half-hearted attempt to jab at her, but then realising their uselessness in the stabbing department, dropped sulkily to the floor with a clatter.

Wincing, Erica pulled the knives out of her body, healing over already. Scowling at the holes in her top, she glared at the knives. This was less pleasant. There was definitely something more sinister at work here.

Turning to the kitchen door to check on Jane, she found that it was not where she remembered. Was she going crazy, or…?

She walked towards where it was now. Just as she reached it, it jumped across to its previous position. Erica frowned. That was really strange. She tried again, and again it slipped away from her. After a few more rounds of this, she was getting really frustrated, and so came up with a new plan. Using her speed, she zoomed from one side of the wall to the other, forcing the door to swap positions every few milliseconds.

The effort paid off, as she was eventually rewarded with a loud splintering sound. Stopping, she found that the lower half of the door was on the left hand side of the kitchen, while the upper half was on the right. She moved towards the bottom half. It stayed where it was. Ducking down, Erica went through into the hallway.

It had changed. The floor was a lurid blue, while the stairs became progressively more unnerving as they approached the first floor.

"Jane?" called out Erica, cautiously.

No reply.

Erica crept across the floor, avoiding the wooden panels that snapped at her feet. She peered up to Jane's room. For some reason, she couldn't see her door. She called out again. "Jane? Something really weird is happening!"

She took a step onto the staircase. Her foot sank into it. She quickly moved to the next one. This time, it sank into her foot. The third step shimmered, while the fourth was just really gloopy. Looking down at the stair, Erica mounted the fifth. It was normal – carpeted in its usual shade, firm, and exactly like a step should be in a normal house. That was reassuring. Erica looked up, and could repress a squeal. She was upside down. And now the hallway seemed enormous, and she was suspended hundreds of metres above the floor.

Steeling herself, she took another. Now she was on a white stone step, and everything was sideways. With the next step, she found herself stepping up onto the hall floor. How had that happened? Now seriously freaked out, Erica gave up with the staircase and flew up towards Jane's room, shouting her name as she did so.

After a moment, she realised that she was getting no closer, despite the fact that it should have taken a second to flash up to it. Concentrating, she focused on the door, which had miraculously reappeared in her field of vision, and stretched out her arms.

She felt herself rushing towards it, but then the house seemed to elongate, and the door became further and further away until it seemed like it was at the end of an enormous tunnel. It grew smaller and smaller as Erica flew faster and faster.

With a shift in the world that was accompanied by a sharp 'crack', everything suddenly changed, and Erica found herself flying at full speed just inched from the solid door. She prepared for the painful impact, when the door swung open, revealing the figure of Jane.

Erica felt everything slow down as she gazed at the glowing girl in front of her. Jane was floating several inches off the floor, her head thrown back, and her entire body bathed in a yellow light. The room was black except for her. The light shone on nothing, but seemed to be reflected by everything.

Jane's head flicked forwards, revealing eyes the glittered gold. She stared at Erica, smiled, revealing silvery pointed teeth, and then blinked.

Erica barrelled through the door, which snapped shut behind her.

And she was back in the hall, lying spread-eagled on the floor. Rubbing her very confused head, Erica scrambled towards the front door.

She couldn't handle this on her own.


	53. Spell It Out - Part 4

**Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light**

There was a frantic knocking at the door, sending the front part of the house rattling from the vibrations.

"Mrs Weir? Mrs Weir?" yelled a panicked voice.

Sighing, Benny's grandmother looked up from her car magazine. And she'd hoped, with Ethan, Benny and Rory all out of town, for a quiet night in on her own. Alas, it was not to be. She got up and hurried through to the front door, in order to prevent it being battered down. As she went, it crossed her mind that she should be mildly relieved at, at last, having proof that the three of them were not the source of the bizarre happenings in the own.

She opened the door, expecting to see Sarah, but raised her eyebrows in surprise to find Erica waiting on the step.

"Something the matter, dear?"

Erica nodded forlornly, her eyes downcast. To her great surprise, she was trembling slightly.

Mrs Weir smiled understandingly, turned and headed into the kitchen. "I'll make some tea."

Grateful, Erica went to follow, only to smack into something solid and fall to the ground. She picked herself up, rubbing her forehead. "What…?"

Benny's grandmother smiled apologetically. "I forgot. I've strengthened the boundary spell. Come in, Erica."

At that, the air in the doorway shimmered slightly, and Erica found that she could enter the house. She followed Mrs Weir to the kitchen.

* * *

"So, you must be Erica," Benny's grandmother said, calmly handing the jumpy girl a mug. "I don't think we've ever been formally introduced."

Erica looked up, frowning. "Really? I suppose not."

"But Benny had a picture of you in his room, and sometimes he'd say your name randomly during the day."

Erica gagged on her drink at the thought of being prominent in Benny's mind. She felt demeaned even thinking about it. She narrowed her eyes. "_Had…_?"

Mrs Weir nodded. "He took it down a little while ago. He seems to have moved on to someone else now, although he keeps it very close who."

Erica idly mused through all the people she knew, feeling a wave of pity for them. Who could it –

_Stop!_ screamed a thought through her mind. She shook herself violently, sending tea slopping over the table. There was a real problem here, and she was being drawn into gossip!

"Mrs Weir, it's – it's Jane. She's gone really, uh, _weird_."

Sharply attentive, Benny grandmother now became more focused. "Weird _how_?"

"Well, she's _glowing_, and the house is acting like it's defending her, and everything seems warped, and there's this strange green fire that isn't warm, and, and –" Erica blurted out in a stream, losing all composure, and breaking into incoherence.

Mrs Weir patted her on the arm. Erica looked up for reassurance, but the old face that she saw was very grim. Tight-lipped and worried, Benny's grandmother looked across at Erica. "You were right to come to me. What is happening to Jane is serious indeed."

"What is it?"

"Jane has the potential to use magic."

"Like you – a witch?"

"Earth priestess" she corrected automatically, but nodding anyway. "Anyway, she's very young and not in full control of her powers. She's probably not even aware of what she's doing. At times, magic builds up inside magic users, particularly before they mature."

"Why doesn't it happen to Benny, then?" Erica asked with a slight smile.

"It does – or, at least, it _did_," came the reply. "When he was younger, there were build ups of magic, but I was able to siphon it off before it could become dangerous. These days, he tends to use it up fairly rapidly on his own, although," (here she grimaced) "I'm not entirely sure that he's fully in control yet, either. Jane, however, is on her own. Normally, I would have noticed by now, but with Ethan keeping his distance from Benny, I've had no way to observe her regularly. There have probably been things going strangely for weeks now."

Erica nodded, and looked over her shoulder out of the window, half-expecting a giant fireball to be ballooning into the sky. Seeing her concern, Mrs Weir shook her head. "I've already taken precautions to ensure that whatever happens to Jane can't extend past the house. Whitechapel is safe from her magic."

"So, can you stop this?"

Here Mrs Weir looked a little concerned. "If I can reach her, then I can drain her magic. _But_, if, as you say, it is already protecting her from people getting close, then there is nothing I can do. She will continue to use magic of increasing power until there is nothing left."

Here, Erica looked hopeful. "So, in time, she'll just fizzle out?"

Mrs Weir shook her head sorrowfully. "No. There will be nothing left _of her_. The magic will consume her totally, and, in doing so, will vaporise everything within the boundary."

Erica jumped up. "Then what are we waiting for! Because complete disintegration is on the top ten things a babysitter should not let happen!"

With that, she zoomed back to Ethan's house, Mrs Weir unceremoniously tucked under her arm.

Blinking at the rapid speed, but grinning wildly at the exhilaration, Mrs Weir stared up at the house. It looked normal. As they stepped towards it, it rippled in the night, sending waves of multi-coloured light shooting over them.

As Erica went to open the door, it seemed to grow a snarling, snapping face. Screwing up her eyes, she forced it open, revealing the hallway within. They stepped passed the threshold, and immediately were confronted with another hall, followed by another, extending far into the distance.

"Not this again," murmured Erica.

"Ignore it," said Benny's grandmother. "It's an illusion, nothing more. Believe that you are just taking a few steps to the stairs."

Forcing herself, Erica did as she was told, and found herself at the bottom of the stairs. Looking back, the front door was out of sight through the successive rooms. Looking beside her at Mrs Weir, she blinked in astonishment.

"You see? I do know what I'm talking about."

They headed up the stairs, taking no notice of the strangeness that surrounded them. Benny's grandmother kept a tight grip on Erica's arm, and made sure that she kept going. At the top, they walked determinedly to Jane's room.

The girl was hovering in the middle of the room just as she had been when Erica had last seen her, but now the golden light had turned an ominous red, and was pulsing slightly. Erica knew nothing about magic, but could tell that Jane was becoming more unstable.

"Jane?" called Benny's grandmother, softly.

Jane turned her face towards her blankly, her metallic eyes glinting in the red glow. She raised a hand, slowly. The walls shimmered. Mrs Weir took a step forwards and reached out her own hand. "Jane. Hold my hand."

Jane stared ahead, and then swept her hand around in a circle. An electric charge surged around the room, knocking them down. Beneath them, the floor vanished and both Erica and Mrs Weir dropped into the living room below.

Prone, both Erica and Mrs Weir could only watch as Jane descended on them like a bizarre and sinister angel, shattering ornaments into bursts of light and turning the walls into towers of flame. With a snap of her fingers, she briefly suspended Erica in a blinding field of blue light, before sending her limp body flying into the kitchen.

The house shuddered and the red glow darkened in shade, while the pulses of energy grew more erratic, as Jane turned her attention to Mrs Weir. With a manic grin, she dropped towards her, seeking only to destroy. Benny's grandmother had no time to do anything but close her eyes and raise her hands.


	54. Spell It Out - Part 5

**We are here as on a darkling plain**

Possessed by magic, Jane swooped towards Benny's grandmother. Everything seemed to shiver and shatter as the real world bent under the supernatural pressure. Erica lay in the flame filled kitchen, unconscious. Benny's grandmother seemed paralysed by the sudden attack.

On closer inspection, though, it was clear that she was murmuring something instead. As Jane drew closer, Evelyn spoke faster and faster, and, with the blazing girl just inches away from her, she finished the spell. Flicking her eyes open, there was an audible squeal, as if something had just been wiped across glass. The house groaned, and the magic-controlled Jane froze, distracted.

Outside, the boundaries Mrs Weir had imposed on Jane's magic had suddenly been removed, causing the intensity to dissipate, spreading over Whitechapel. This caused a large amount of low level magic to cover the town, which, for some months afterwards, led to a number of inexplicable things, such as purple apples, marmalade flavoured water and a single brick in every house to glow green at night. It also made the Morgan's chimney fall off and smash on the front path below. Across town, the rippling effects of the magic sent a number of vampires quite off their late night snacks, and, in places, left buildings completely without light, despite the electricity supply remaining fine.

The more immediate effect of the sudden loosing of magic was to startle the possessed Jane into halting. With such a large concentration of magic suddenly spreading out in all direction, she lost concentration for a moment. It was enough, though, for Evelyn to grab her wrist and start to absorb the excess magic.

The figure of Jane struggled for a while, trying to wrench herself from the old lady's grip, and shooting off random bolts of magic. Mrs Weir appeared a match for her, though, and the magic missed her entirely. She smiled. She still had it! A creak, though, alerted her to the fact that she was not the intended target. From above, a section of the remaining ceiling gave way, a dropped down towards her. Raising both hands to protect herself, she released Jane, and was buried.

Weakened, but still possessed, Jane ran for the hallway, but, on passing through the kitchen, stumbled and fell. Snarling, she spun around, looking out of her pearly white eyes for what had tripped her.

An impeccably shod foot filled her field of vision. Attached to it was a long leg in, by now, less than impeccable trousers. Above this was a ripped t-shirt, and, finally, as she gazed awkwardly up, she saw a furious face. Erica, fangs fully extended, scowled down at her. It would, admittedly, have been more impressive if her hair had not been sent radiating out around her by the static charge of the field, but she still cut a commanding figure.

Bending down, heedless of Jane's struggles, Erica gripped her by the front of her jumper and raised the strange, spitting fiend to eye level. She glared at her.

"Do you know how hard I worked to get these boots? I had to track that girl for hours _and _make sure that she was my size. And now they're torn and burnt. Take it from me: I'm not happy. And you see my hair? _What _have you done to my hair? I'm a freak!"

Here, Erica held Jane a little higher, and pushed her against a wall. Jane's eyes flashed a dozen colours, while the glow surrounding her changed to shimmering black, but Erica was not intimidated.

"I am your babysitter, and, whatever you are in Jane, you have been a _very_ naughty girl!"

With this, she threw a shocked Jane across the room to the pile of rubble, which erupted to reveal an unscathed Mrs Weir. Catching Jane, and closing her eyes, she extracted the last of the magic, her fingers burning off the excess, much like an oil rig would.

Jane slumped onto Evelyn's shoulder, now entirely limp and breathing heavily. Erica hurried over.

"Is she OK?"

Mrs Weir placed a hand on her forehead, and felt it rapidly cooling. "She'll be alright. The magic's gone now."

As the pair watched in anxious silence, Jane began to stir. Slowly, twitching, her eyelids opened, revealing her normal brown eyes. She frowned at them.

"Why are you here, Grandma Weir? And why am _I_ here?"

Jane looked around, getting even more confused. "Why is there all this damage? Ethan and Benny are away…"

Her eyes hovered over the items from her room, and the hole in the ceiling. Her mouth opened and closed. "Did I… Did I – do – this?"

Mrs Weir nodded sympathetically. "It wasn't your fault."

"Was it Ethan's?" asked Jane suspiciously.

"Not this time, no," said Benny's grandmother with a light laugh. "This one's all me. I think I should have kept a closer eye on you. But don't worry; I won't let it happen again. We have enough to deal with without _you_ being a problem as well."

"Will I be able to use magic again?"

"Not for now. But, when you are ready, I'll teach you, just like I'm teaching Benny. But I've really got to get him off my hands before I can even think of dividing my attention. He certainly needs careful watching!"

Jane nodded and looked around again, doing a double take on seeing Erica. "Er… What happened to your hair?"

Erica put her hands to it. "I haven't seen it, but it feels bad." She grimaced and made an attempt to push it down. "Is that better?"

It still looked a mess, but deciding that Erica would take a long time to find that out, both Jane and Mrs Weir decided to take the quick route out, and just nodded.

The three of them looked around. "You know," said Erica, "I think this is actually slightly better than when the three nerds have been here."

With a smile, Mrs Weir nodded and waved her hands. "I can repair the physical damage. I'll leave you two to do the rest."

With that, she had slipped away, hoping to salvage what was left of her evening.

Erica looked at Jane, and then at the tip that was the kitchen, hall and living room. At least nothing was broken any more.

"Come on. According to the usual schedule, the others normally have at least half an hour to clear up before Ethan's parents get home."

Nodding, Jane set to work helping Erica to right the furniture. It was only a minute or so later, though, that they heard the key in the lock.

"Erica?" was the call from outside. "All the lights went out at the dance hall, so they had to cancel. We're back a little early, but –"

Mrs Morgan fell silent as she entered the messed up kitchen, and stared at the dishevelled living room. Then she looked pointedly at the out-of-bed Jane. Finally, she pointed her gaze coldly at Erica.

If Erica could have done, she would have blushed. "Uh…" she started, giving what she hoped was a conciliatory smile.

* * *

After the mess had been cleared up, Jane put to bed, and Erica had left, unpaid, for home, Mrs Morgan sat down heavily on the sofa, irritably moving a DVD case from under her. She sighed and looked across at her husband.

"I know that what happened with Ethan was probably partly her fault, but…" She trailed off.

Her husband nodded. "At least she doesn't destroy the house? I know. I'll phone Sarah to let her know that she'll be back babysitting on Fridays again."

* * *

**There, episode 9 complete - a slightly shorter one this time. Look out for episode 10!**


	55. Episode 10 - The Crooked Man

**Episode 10 here - reviews continue to be warmly appreciated!**

* * *

The Crooked Man

* * *

**That is no country for old men**

"… And so this year, we will be studying the history of Europe through the medium of poetry."

Ethan groaned inwardly. This was going to be a long year. Next to him, Benny didn't quite succeed in internalising his, letting out a slight sigh, and then being forced to fake a coughing fit when the teacher looked at him with eyes narrowed.

"The Middle Ages, then, can perhaps be best understood through its poetry…"

"I'll bet it can," muttered Benny. Ethan nodded, already feeling drowsy. He let the words wash over him.

"… Which is why Dante is considered perhaps the greatest poet of any age. The poem that we will be looking at has been profoundly influential in literature, film, and even video games. Yes, I thought that would interest you, Mr Weir."

Ethan smothered a smile. At the mention of the words 'video games' Benny had perked up and sat up straight, looking directly ahead.

"Is something funny, Mr Morgan?"

"Uh… No?"

"Well, for the people of mediaeval Europe, the subject of this poem was no laughing matter – though, of course, we, in our modern, rational age, find its beliefs somewhat laughable. I am talking, naturally, about the _Divine Comedy_." He paused and sighed. "Yes, Rory?"

Rory had his usual slightly bemused expression spread over his face. "But you said that it wasn't funny…"

"Actually, Keaner, that's a reasonably intelligent question." Ethan and Benny exchanged interested glances. Even Rory seemed surprised.

"It is referred to as a 'Comedy' merely because it is not _tragic_. It is an account of Dante's journey through an imagined afterlife –" (here it was Ethan's turn to sit up and pay attention) "- and it is from this that we get the popular idea of Hell consisting of concentric circles, as well as Mount Purgatory."

Ethan started at this, knocking his pencil case to the floor. As he picked it up, he saw Benny gazing intently at him. Behind them, Rory's frown was deepening.

"Is there anything particularly fascinating about Ethan that you'd like to share with the class, Mr Weir?"

"Er…" Benny coloured. "No…"

The teacher grunted, then turned to the board and began drawing out a map of the first six circles of Hell.

"This might be interesting after all," murmured Ethan.

"Well, yeah, but, like everything at school, it would probably have been really useful two months ago!" hissed Benny.

Ethan nodded, and went back to his notes.

* * *

"Finally!" said Benny in the corridor, after the lesson. "At last, a history test I might be able to pass!"

"Yeah. It's not like we're going to forget about Hell and Purgatory any time soon."

"Mmm," said Benny, feigning confusion. "Was that the time that we were burned, or where we were nearly drowned. It's all just a blur…"

Rory nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, been there, done that, got the massive scar where my heart was ripped out!"

He beamed at them. There was silence. People nearby gave them a funny look and stepped away from Rory.

"Hey, Rory," said Ethan, kindly, "do you remember about things that you shouldn't shout out when we're in public?" Rory nodded. "Well, our little trip to Hell and back is one of those things."

"Ah. OK!"

"Hi, Sarah!" said Ethan as they reached their lockers. Rory seemed to be craning his neck around anxiously.

She smiled at them. "Erica's just round the corner, Rory, if you want to –"

He vanished. After a moment, Erica came down the corridor from the other direction. "Has Count Dorkula gone?"

Sarah nodded. "Hey, that was a bit mean, Sarah!" exclaimed Benny.

Erica shrugged. "She's a vampire. We're evil. Get over it."

"So, I'm still OK for tonight, then?" Sarah asked Ethan. He nodded.

"Yep. You're officially back in the good books."

"And you know who to thank for that," said Erica, smiling sweetly.

Ethan laughed. "Well, you did almost destroy the house!"

"_That_ was your nutty little sister!"

Ethan opened his mouth to protest at the slander, then realised that it was Jane that they were talking about, and tilted his head from side to side. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Anyway, Erica, you must have a reason for being here, or you wouldn't be hanging around within Ethan here," said Benny, leaning on the door of his locker and pointing a thumb in Ethan's direction. He lowered his voice. "He's a real nerd, you know."

Ethan kicked him in the shin, and, as Benny crumpled forwards, smiled benevolently at Erica. "_Was_ there a reason?"

Erica nodded and opened her locker, passing him a large plastic bag. "I've been saving up these for you to clean. I think they're all my size."

"You _think_?" exclaimed Sarah, rifling through it. "Oh, no. Erica! These – You've stolen them all!"

"Well, not stolen – given a better home, I'd say."

Ethan looked down at the bag and sighed. "You know, Erica, at some point we're going to have to talk about some payment –"

Erica bared her fangs. Quivering, Ethan rapidly changed the direction of his sentence.

"- And, uh, how I don't need any!" he said, his voice rising.

"Good. Glad we've reached an understanding." With that, she stalked off.

"Oh, well handled, Ethan. You really stood up for yourself there," said Benny drily.

"Well, she's got – teeth, and, I – I've got, uh…"

"A neck?" supplied Sarah, smiling faintly. Ethan nodded, abashed, as Benny laughed uproariously. He shoved the clothes bag into his locker.

"I'd like to see you try, Benny," he said, sourly. "There was a time when you'd be fawning over her as much as Rory does. And that time wasn't very long ago."

Benny blushed. Sarah rolled her eyes.

"_Anyway_, I guess that I'll see you two tonight."

"Bye. See you…" Ethan said, watching her walk away.

"See you," mimicked Benny, sniggering. "Go on, Ethan, give her that little wave." Ethan turned, scowling, but Benny had already scuttled out of reach.

* * *

"… And then, after you defeat Captain Megadeath, you enter the treasure room, where you're confronted with the personification of the sea!" explained Benny, excitedly.

"Really…" said Sarah, sighing. "And this differs from the rest of your games _how_ exactly?"

Benny looked at her, confused. "Weren't you listening? It's because –"

Quickly, Sarah held up her hand. "It's OK, Benny, I get it, and they're all completely original and not derivative in any way."

"Good." Benny smiled and went back to flicking through the available films. His stomach rumbled noisily, causing him to go pink to the tips of his ears. He called through to Ethan.

"Any sign of that pizza?"

Wandering through, Ethan shook his head. "It's only been ten minutes, Benny!"

"Yeah, but I'm hungry!"

"This conversation feels familiar," said Sarah, coolly. Benny shrugged.

"You might have forgotten now that you only drink blood, but people need food, Sarah!"

"Not that often, surely."

Benny held up his hands. "I put it down to using magic. It eats up energy, which I guess, means you need to eat up more often."

Ethan was saved another round of the argument by the ring of the doorbell.

"Finally!" exclaimed Benny. Ethan went to answer the door, picking up the money on the kitchen table as he did so.

Opening the door, he kept looking at the notes in his pal. "How much?" he asked, not looking up. There was no reply. Glancing ahead, he couldn't see anyone at eye-level.

Then there was a polite cough from a little lower down. He dropped his gaze, and, to his surprise saw a small man, well dressed. It took a moment to realise that he wasn't actually short, but instead hunched over. The neat suit, fine shoes and dignified bearing, though, were offset by the numerous scarred that lined the man's face. Bending his crooked neck, he smiled up at Ethan, revealing a line of off-white, but not in any way abnormal, teeth.

"Good evening, master," he said, in an educated voice. "My name is Igor."


	56. The Crooked Man - Part 2

**Those dying generations**

"Uh… Hi, Igor," said Ethan, rather nervously.

"May I come in?" the little man asked smoothly, in an accent hard to exactly pinpoint. If anything, it was almost free of all accent, were that possible.

Ethan thought for a moment. He was generally predisposed to say 'no' to strangers inviting themselves in. On the other hand, Igor didn't look dangerous, and, even if he was, Ethan reckoned that he would probably be safer if Igor turned nasty when Benny and Sarah were around than if it happened here, where, Ethan admitted to himself, he was likely to come off the worse in anything that didn't involve seeing confusing visions of the future. If there ever was such a contest, then he might win that. Anything else, though…

He smiled warily and stepped aside. "Go through," he said gesturing at the open living room door.

As Igor stepped over the threshold, Benny's voice came resonating through the house. "What are you doing, Ethan, exchanging life stories?"

Ethan rolled his eyes, and, closing the front door, walked with Igor through to his friends.

"At last!" said Benny, levering himself up from his prone position on the sofa. He looked at the twisted person that Ethan had brought back. "Oh." His face fell in disappointment, before rising again in suspicion.

"Who are you?" asked both he and Sarah at the same time.

The man bowed low, which wasn't really much further than usual, but the intent was clear. "Igor, mistress, master."

Sarah look nonplussed, but Benny raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Really?" He frowned. "Isn't it Ygor?"

Igor shook his head. "No. 'I' as in 'eye'" (here he pointed for added emphasis) "not as in, well, 'e'. _I_gor."

Benny shrugged. "Fine. The films are wrong, then."

Igor nodded sadly. "They normally are. I would sue, but…" He shrugged. Benny made a sympathetic face.

"I know. I feel that way sometimes, too." He held out a hand. "Benny. As in, er, Benny."

Igor shook it. "An honour, master."

Benny grinned. "I wish all the people that we met were this polite." He looked about to plunge into a deeper conversation with Igor, but Sarah, still confused by events, interposed.

"Excuse me, but I seem to have missed the bit where I was supposed to have learned who you are. Could someone explain?"

Ethan and Benny both shook their heads derisively. "You don't watch enough old movies," said Benny.

"Igor," said Ethan, in his best encyclopaedia voice, "has become popularly known as the assistant of Dr Frankenstein, due to many appearances in film." He looked across at Igor, quizzically. "But isn't actually accurate, partly because it was never in the book, and, on a technical note, neither was Frankenstein a doctor."

"Plus the whole thing was _fictional_!" burst out Sarah.

Here, Igor smiled. "You are correct, mistress. _Frankenstein_ is a work of fiction. There was no such man – at least, not one named Frankenstein. But people have been experimenting with the supernatural for generations – often the same people. They have always needed assistants, people with proper training, and that it where people like me come in. My name is Igor – I was the inspiration for the film character all those years ago, but I am not unique. There are many assistants around the world. The supernatural has a way of drawing people to it."

Sarah glanced at the two boys, who were clearly awestruck to be in the presence of someone apparently so famous. She pressed on with her questions. "Why are you here?"

"In general, or, more specifically, this house?" enquired Igor.

"Both," said Sarah, coldly.

"I _was_ assistant to an experimenter in re-animation. He advertised, and I applied."

"There's a supernatural classified section in the newspaper?" interrupted Benny.

The little man nodded. "There are a complicated set of anagrams that we use. As for why I am in your house, well, it's on the map!"

"What map?" asked Ethan, his brow creasing.

"This," said Igor, removing it from his pocket and unfolding it. It was a map of North America. In Canada, there were a few red crosses. The one over Whitechapel had Ethan's address by it.

"What, we're some kind of supernatural pit-stop?" asked Benny. "No wonder there's always something going on."

"If you like. Your little escapades over the last year have not gone unnoticed. And it's few who manage to escape from Hell unscathed."

At the mention of it, all three of them winced a little, and Ethan let out an involuntary yelp, as they recalled their experiences in Purgatory. Benny grasped Ethan's hand, as he had been wont to do when his friend had cried out in his sleep.

Igor pursed his lips apologetically. "I'm sorry. Not quite unscathed. I should have realised."

Ethan waved a hand. "No, there was no way for you to have known. Go on. You said that you _were_ an assistant."

"Ah. Well, my master got a little too carried away. It became obvious to the nearby people, and they stormed the house just as we were on the point of completing the experiment."

"What, like some kind of peasant rabble?" asked Benny, "But this is Canada!"

Igor shrugged. "When faced with the prospect of a resurrected corpse, people generally react in the same way wherever they are. I escaped – we are given special training in slipping away into the chaos – but my master was not so lucky."

"They –" (Sarah gulped and lowered her voice) "- _killed_ him?"

Igor shook his head. "Oh, no, nothing of the sort. He was driven out of town and dumped in the lake. If he comes back, though… Well, there may be pitchforks waiting."

"But why are you here?" asked Ethan. "Do you need somewhere to stay until you get a new job."

Igor shook his head. "I need to retrieve my equipment. It is vital that I keep hold of it, otherwise anyone might succeed in creating a monster."

"And you need us because…?" asked Benny.

"I can't return there alone. The villagers know me, and, also –" (here he paused and looked away briefly) "- I am afraid."

"Of what?" asked Sarah.

"I am not entirely sure. I know, however, that were I to go alone into that house, I would not leave it alive." Igor looked back up at the.m There was something in his eyes that Ethan couldn't quite read.

The three of them looked at each other. "What are we, protection for hire?" asked Benny, a little aggrieved.

"A seer, a vampire and a spellmaster. An unusual, not to mention potent, combination. Isn't this what you live for?"

"Well, er, I just want to get my homework done…" started Ethan. He looked at the others, and then back at the plaintive Igor. "But I suppose that we could do this." He blushed, and glanced nervously at Igor. "Because it's you."

Sarah sighed. "Oh, alright… Just this once, I guess." She looked firmly at Igor. "But don't spread this around. We don't want every evening turning into a troubleshooting session for anyone who drops by."

Igor nodded. "Thank you, mistress, master."

Ethan and Sarah stood up. "Hey!" cried Benny. "Why did no-one ask me?"

Ethan raised an eyebrow. Flushing, Benny rapidly got to his feet. "OK, OK, wherever you two go, I'll go too. But," he said, firmly, "I'm not going until we get that pizza!"

As if on cue, the doorbell rang. Benny glanced at his watch and grinned. "33 minutes – it's free!"


	57. The Crooked Man - Part 3

**Monuments of unageing intellect**

The other three waited impatiently for Benny to finish his pizza. At last, he swallowed the final bite.

"Ready now?" asked Ethan, exasperated.

Benny wiped his mouth on his sleeve, to the distaste of the others. "Yeah. Come on." With that he walked out. He paused in the doorway, and turned towards them. "Well? Hurry up!"

Rolling their eyes, they followed him out of the house. A cough, though, froze all of them into position. Slowly, they looked in the direction of the sound.

Jane was standing half-way up the stairs, her arms folded, and with a stern expression on her face. "And _where_ do you think you're going?"

"Uh…" The three of them looked sheepishly at each other. Igor just seemed to find it amusing.

"Out," said Ethan, decisively.

"Well, we know what mum and dad think about that, don't we, Ethan? We don't want anyone to let them know."

"Er…" Ethan seemed at a loss. He decided to cut to the end of the argument, and so reached for his pocket.

To his surprise, Benny stepped up. "And I'm sure that they wouldn't want them to know that it was you that ruined the house last week and then lied so that Erica would take the fall?"

Now it was Jane's turn to stammer embarrassedly. "They'd never – believe – if – you –"

"They'd believe grandma, though," said Benny, smiling, fully aware of his advantage.

Crushed and embarrassed, Jane sat down on the step. "Oh. OK. I'll keep it quiet. And then we're even?"

"Uh…" started Ethan, ready to agree, but, again, Benny spoke for him.

"You do this, and lots of other things, and _then_ we're even. OK? Good. Now, off to bed."

Subdued, Jane did as she was told.

Beaming with triumph, Benny walked with the others out of the door. "You know, Benny, at times I think you'd be quite good as a babysitter…" said Sarah.

"Really?"

"Well, not most of the time, obviously."

Benny nodded agreeably. He couldn't really deny it.

"So," said Ethan, having locked the front door and turning to address Igor, "where are we going?"

"That bus stop, and then to the spooky side of town where nobody really lives," Igor said, pointing.

The three of them looked surprised. "Well, I guess not everything can be in walking distance," mused Ethan as they sat down on the little bench.

* * *

"You know," said Benny as they stepped off the bus into the suburban street, "I've always wondered why this place is called 'the spooky side of town where nobody really lives'. It's Whitechapel's biggest residential area, and it's hardly spooky. Also, it takes ages to write out the address."

"Well," said Ethan, "I guess that when they named it, not many people lived here, and so they didn't need a snappy address."

"Everywhere gets built over in time," said Igor, sadly. "Such is the dismal progress of the modern world. The dark corners shrink further and further, hemming in the creatures of the night. It's just not the same any more."

Ethan frowned. "Doesn't that mean that each dark corner is proportionally higher in monsters than it used to be?"

Igor raised his eyebrows. "I suppose it must be. This way."

He led the three of them down a brightly lit path to an old, rusty gate. Producing an oversized key, he unlocked it and opened it. It was completely silent.

He looked at their surprised faces and gave his twisted smile. "Did you expect it to creak? That would have rather given the game away."

The three went in, and the gate shut as quietly as it had opened. They were now in a hugely overgrown garden that was really more of a forest. A faint path curved away through the undergrowth. Igor led them along it. After a short while, Sarah stopped still and cocked her head.

"What is it?" whispered Ethan, concerned.

"I thought I heard the gate…" said Sarah, glancing back. The gate was still in sight and looked unchanged.

"Just the wind, maybe?" offered Benny, who then turned to Igor. "There's something I don't get. If you're the original, then aren't you from –"

"Transylvania? Yes."

"But you don't sound – well, you don't _talk like this_." Here, Benny attempted an approximation at a Central European accent. Sarah winced, and Ethan flushed a deep red at Benny's botched example.

"Well," said Igor, "I don't think anyone has ever sounded like _that_, but I did once speak with what you might consider a strange accent. I have, however, been alive for more than two hundred years, across various countries, speaking numerous languages, and it has faded over that time."

"_Two hundred_?" exclaimed Ethan.

"Shh!" hissed Igor, motioning him to be quiet, and then nodding in reply. "I ex-foliate daily."

"With yours or someone else's skin?" muttered Sarah darkly. Hearing that, Igor smiled knowingly. He would have replied, but the trio were startled by a series of howls that sounded just like a pack of wolves.

Sarah spun around, fangs bared, searching for the danger, but Igor merely laughed and headed over to a nearby tree. He leaned down and picked up a speaker on the end of a wire. "Just one of my little deterrents. There's a pressure pad in the floor. Look."

He stood on a particular spot. Exactly the same set of howls came from the speaker.

Ethan nodded, impressed, and then, aware of something holding him tightly, sighed. "You can let go of me now, Benny. There's no danger."

"Sorry," said Benny in a small voice, relinquishing Ethan's shoulders.

Ethan looked at him curiously, and then walked on behind Igor and Sarah. As they neared the house, it seemed to grow darker and darker as the trees became closer together, until, at last, they seemed to just be walking down a pitch black tunnel, over-high vegetation pressing in on them from all sides. They stumbled onwards, following the capering figure of Igor, when, finally, they burst out in front of an enormous, decrepit, turreted house which towered above them, seeming to loom menacingly down on them despite being nothing more than bricks and mortar.

Ethan gaped at the massive, sinister-looking building. It certainly looked like the kind of place that a mad scientist and his assistant might work in. It also looked just right to be stormed by a mob of angry villagers. It probably even had flaming torches, somewhere.

Sarah had turned back to look nervously at them, but, on doing so, couldn't help breaking into a grin. "Scared, are we?"

Ethan frowned. "Why?"

She nodded at something by his side, and he suddenly felt something on his hand. His face reddened as he looked down. So did Benny's. "Uh…"

They rapidly unclasped their hands and shuffled awkwardly apart. "It was – uh – so we didn't get –a"

"- separated in the woods," finished Benny. Ethan nodded vigorously, and they both edged a little further apart.

"Right…" said Sarah, slowly, and then turned back to the house. "So, Igor, how do we get in?"

"There is a secret entrance. Walk this way," he said, starting to limp off into the gloom of the shadow of the castle-like building.

They were about to follow, when there was a loud snap of a twig behind them. They froze, and, with great trepidation, turned to see what kind of creature it was that had been following them.


	58. The Crooked Man - Part 4

**To the holy city of Byzantium**

"Who's there?" called Sarah to the dark forest. She peered out, but could see nothing. Then, a shape detached itself from the side of a tree and came gradually towards them. The fear-inducing effect that this had, though, was stunted when the figure stumbled over a tree root and tumbled head first amongst the group.

The familiar blonde head at their feet groaned.

"Hi, Rory," the three of them said.

He waved up at them, slightly dazed. "Hi. Who's the little guy?"

"Igor."

Rory sprang up. "Cool! Like the films?"

The small man bowed modestly in acknowledgement. Just as Ethan and Benny and did, Rory stared at Igor with reverence for some time.

"_Anyway_," said Sarah, waving her hand in front of Rory's face, "why are you here?"

Rory looked a little sheepish. "Well…" he started, scratching the back of his neck, "when I eventually found Erica at school, she said she'd meet me in this part of town. I thought that we might go and hunt together."

"Ahh, how romantic," whispered Benny to Ethan. "For their first date he wants them to have a take-away."

Ethan laughed quietly, and then turned his attention back to Rory's story.

"… But it seems like she's got held up somewhere, and then I saw you guys, and thought that you might be doing something fun!" The smile had reappeared, and he looked round at them all. "What are _you_ all doing here?"

"We're here with Igor to collect his reanimation stuff," explained Ethan.

"Awesome!" said Rory. "Can I come too?"

"Well, you're here already, so you may as well carry on," said Sarah. She turned to Igor. "Now, about that back entrance?"

He nodded and led them around the corner to a little mound some distance from the house, Rory doggedly following him, eyes wide with wonder.

"Is he always like this?" murmured Igor to Benny.

"Pretty much, yeah," he replied. "Actually, this is probably more normal than usual."

Igor leered at him sympathetically, before leaning down and lifting up a section of turf, revealing a metal grille. "Can you give me a hand?"

"On or off my arm?" said Ethan, with a smile, bending over. As he touched the grille, he reeled back –

_Fire – torches, being carried by dark figures, rushing forwards, towards him, towards an empty table, through dark corridors – running, running, running_

_- _He snapped back into the present, breathing heavily, and blinking at the concerned faces about him.

"Vision?" asked Sarah. He nodded.

"Good job, too," said Benny. "You've not had one for ages! Any longer and we'd have had to kick you out of the supernatural gang," he laughed. Ethan smiled, thinly.

"What did you see?" Sarah asked, kneeling close to him.

Ethan frowned. "There were all these people with torches chasing me down a corridor…"

Igor started. "But that was what happened to me. There's nothing to worry about. It's already happened!"

Benny sighed dramatically and clapped Ethan on the shoulder. "You'd better get someone to take a look at your second sight, Ethan. It seems to be needing glasses."

Ethan scowled. "They're normally pretty accurate. But if that's already happened, then…" He shrugged. "We'd better get on with it." He bent towards the grille again, and strained at it.

Sarah sighed, pushed him gently out of the way and lifted the heavy metal cover up quite easily with one hand. Ethan looked a little embarrassed. "I could have done that!" he protested. He blushed as both Benny and Sarah looked at him sceptically. "Well… OK, maybe not, but, given, time, and a proper pulley system…" He trailed off.

Smiling, Sarah peered down into the shaft. "Lead on, Igor."

* * *

_Drip!_

With a slight grunt, Rory wiped another splash from his face. "Why does it have to be so wet down here?" he moaned.

Igor shrugged (a bizarre movement for someone so twisted). "It fits in with the atmosphere. Secret tunnels _have _to be dank and dark."

"What, is there some kind of manual?" asked Sarah, with a slight laugh.

Igor looked back at her, serious. "Of course. _I_ wrote it. Standards must be upheld, or where will we be?"

"Somewhere less obviously sinister?" suggested Benny. "That way you might not get quite so many angry mobs."

Igor shook his head. "It wouldn't be the same. Where would the excitement be? The thrill of doing something in secret – but in a place where it is so obvious that you are doing something in secret. You play a magnificent game with the townsfolk – defying their sensibilities under their very noses - !"

He stopped abruptly, gazing off into the distance happily as he thought about the pleasures of his vocation. The others all looked at each other a little warily and increased their distance from Igor slightly.

Eventually, at the end of the wet tunnel, there was a heavy bolted door. Just as the gate had done, it swung open smoothly once it had been unlocked. A little damp, the five of them stood in a chilly vaulted cellar.

"This place must be really inefficient to heat," said Rory, entirely missing the point.

Igor led them up the stone flagged steps and took them out of a small, but very thick, wooden door and out into a long, narrow passage, lit by, to Sarah's satisfaction, a line of flaming torches. What did disappoint her, though, was that each stave was topped with an incandescent light bulb.

"We're trying to go green," explained Igor apologetically. "I was against it from the start, but the master would insist. 'Igor,' he'd say, 'what good is creating a monster if the world's climate is shot to pieces? We must all do our bit!' maybe he was right. But it does ruin the effect, in my opinion. Now, the lab is right in the middle of the castle. Follow me – although, while we're here, this is the toilet, if anyone needs to go?"

Bemused, they stared at him. "We don't normally need to…" said Ethan, eventually. "We're not here sightseeing."

"Good. But there was a time in one of the last places I worked in where the whole mob had to stop just outside the lab because the leader had to dash back to the loo. Again, it ruins the atmosphere when that happens."

Igor then cheerfully led them down a maze of corridors. Sarah trailed a finger through the cobwebs as they passed. She hadn't seen so many since… She shuddered, and then frowned. These cobwebs were fake!

Igor glanced back, seeing her expression. He shrugged. "Where are you going to get a spider big enough to make web for this place?"

The four of them exchanged glances, but said nothing.

At long last, they reached a door- or, rather, where a door had been. The floor was scuffed and scraped, while the metal door was hanging off of its hinges inside the room.

"That's where they forced their way in," said Igor, walking past it and towards the table, and started to collect the various bits and pieces scattered around the room.

"How do you actually do it?" asked Benny, examining a coil of wire. "Electricity? Do you really need a storm?"

Igor shook his head, smiling. "I can't tell you how we do it. That is a closely guarded secret –"

"Hang on!" interrupted Sarah, narrowing her eyes at him. "You don't actually know how to do it, do you? It's never worked."

"What!" protested Igor. "I've been doing it for generations!"

Sarah shook his head. "The set-up, yes, but never the re-animation. Hence the attention to detail over the atmosphere – and the obvious nature of your work. You _want _people to storm this place before the experiment is finished, so that you're never shown up as a fraud!"

Igor opened his mouth to argue back, but suddenly drooped his head in shame. "It's true. I, and my kind, have long known ways of _sustaining_ life, but to recreate it? A foolish dream of the insane. But a lucrative one for us."

Benny and Rory looked at him, stunned. "You're just a supernatural con-man?" asked Benny, dismayed at the fall of an idol.

Igor nodded. "For all I know, it's impossible for the dead to be resurrected in this manner. Others, as you are aware, _are_ possible – but bringing a dead body back to life using scientific methods? No."

"So, we're really just here to help you bury the body," said Ethan, who had been quiet for some time now.

Igor nodded. "Yes."

"Then tell me," said Ethan, his voice getting higher as he gestured to the empty operating table, "where is it?"


	59. The Crooked Man - Part 5

**The artifice of eternity**

As they stared at each other fearfully, a dreadful moan filled the castle.

"That's just – the wind, isn't – it?" stammered, Benny, pale.

"Yeah," said Rory, looking nervously around. "They must have taken the body away when they stormed the place, and that's just another odd –"

The moan came again, louder this time, and with a definitely more human sound to it.

They shivered. Igor looked worried, but, at the same time, slightly pleased. "So it _does_ work!" he breathed, a light shining in his eyes.

"Looks like it," said Ethan, raising an eyebrow and spinning around. "Maybe you do know how to create life."

Benny, Rory, and Igor all cheered up on hearing this. Sarah was not as happy. "Er – guys? That thing making the noise doesn't sound friendly. It is, after all, a _monster_."

"Yeah, Sarah," said Benny, dismissively, "but we've dealt with monsters before, and they're not all bad."

"But they usually are," countered Sarah.

"Don't judge something before you –"

Another roar echoed through the building, this one more vicious, and swiftly followed by a high pitched scream.

"- Uh, I think it's dangerous," finished Benny, trying to hide behind Rory, who was, in turn, trying to hide behind Benny. It didn't work for either of them.

Ethan rolled his eyes. "Look, one of you is a vampire, the other can use magic. It's me that should be worried."

"Yeah," said Rory, "but you're just acting brave to impress –"

The roar this time rattled the machinery in the room.

"OK," said Sarah, "we need to find it and make sure that it doesn't hurt anyone. If it _is_ friendly, which I doubt very much, then we can talk to it and see if we can help it out. If not, then…"

She made a slight noise in her throat and then grimaced.

"Neutralise it?" suggested Ethan. She nodded.

"Now, where is that noise coming from?" Leading the way, Sarah went out into the long corridor again, and cocked her head as yet another moan swooped through the castle. "This way," she said, leading them in the opposite direction to which they had come.

"_Why _do we always have to search out the danger," whined Benny, obediently trailing after Sarah and Igor; Rory and Ethan at his shoulder.

* * *

After they had been walking for some time, Sarah paused, turned, and opened her mouth to say something.

"No," said Benny, flatly.

"What?" she said, defiantly.

"We're not splitting up." He smiled at her, the flickering faux-flames casting strange and slightly unnerving shadows across his face. "That was what you were going to say, right?"

She nodded. "Well, it might help –"

"No, it really wouldn't," chipped in Ethan over Benny's shoulder. "We don't know this castle. It would just mean that more of us get lost. It's better that we all just stay together. That we, if we all get lost, we only have to find our way out once."

Igor coughed. "Well, _I_ know the layout pretty well. I can search for you."

"Well –" started Benny, not keen for him to go, but they were already at the next junction, and Igor had slipped down it, calling to them that he would catch up with them soon.

* * *

They walked on a little further.

"He's just run away towards the nearest exit, hasn't he," said Benny, after a long, disappointed pause.

"That's my guess," said Sarah, coldly. "Well, it's not like he was much use to us."

"He _did_ know the castle, though," pointed out Ethan. "How are we going to get out?"

Rory shrugged. "We always find a way. There had to be a way out. It's, like, the law!"

"Igor was a stickler for the rulebook, I suppose," mused Benny. "There are bound to be dozens of secret exits all over this castle. We just need to find them."

"Yes, Benny, because finding hidden exits is always really easy…" said Ethan, drily.

Benny scowled at his friend. "Well, I don't know, press every suit of armour, pull on every torch –"

"Follow every rainbow…" sang Sarah, causing the two boys to stare bemusedly at her. "_The_ _Sound of Music_?" Ethan and Benny just looked blank. Rory nodded enthusiastically, though, and started to hum the rest of the tune.

"Anyway," said Benny, edging away from the two vampires and focusing his attention on Ethan, "this is a particularly traditional set-up, and so we can probably expect old-fashioned methods of concealing entrances."

"I suppose so," said Ethan, looking nervously up the corridor. "How far away do you think this thing is?"

Sarah shrugged. "I haven't heard it for a while."

"This is weird," said Benny. "We're actually blundering about in near darkness, looking for a reanimated man. We could be at home, having pizza."

"You had pizza," commented Ethan, an indulgent smile etched onto his face.

"Well, yes, but we could have had it in front of the TV, like normal people, instead of as a preparation to go to some creepy castle."

"But where would be the fun in that?" said Sarah, a laugh in her voice.

The hall was filled with the groan of the creature. Pulling up his collar, Benny looked about him. "Maybe the fun of not getting killed?"

They reached the end of the corridor, entering a small intersection of two wings of the house. Down one, they heard a different sound – a scraping, thumping noise. They peered cautiously down it. At the far end, barely illuminated, were a group of figures dragging something between them. Even at that distance, the silhouette was unmistakeable.

"Where are they going with Igor?" whispered Rory.

"How would I know?" said Sarah, reasonably.

"Whatever it is," said Ethan, clinging on to Benny's shoulder, "it's nothing to do with the creature."

"Then we're fine, then?" said Benny. "We can – uh, Ethan, it's not that I mind, but it's a bit of a double standard –"

Ethan quickly let go, the darkness covering his blush, and Benny continued speaking.

"- We can ignore it?"

Sarah shook her head. "We'd better go and investigate."

Benny groaned. "I knew that you'd say that. _Why?_ He's a crook!"

As he said it, another bellow filled the air, this one very loud indeed. Ethan frowned. "Did that sound familiar?"

The others looked at him as if he was crazy. "Well, yeah, it's the groan of the creature we've been looking for," said Rory.

Ethan shook his head. "That's not what I mean – it's like it's _exactly_ the same as one we heard earlier."

Sarah looked sceptical. "It can't be."

Ethan said nothing, and they continued to edge down to where Igor had been taken.

Gradually, a wooden door came into view, with a set of metal bars in the top, right at the end of the corridor. Keeping as much to the shadows as possible, they crept towards it. When they were right up at the door, and about to look in, they were startled by a deafening roar of the creature.

Rory, Benny, and Sarah all spun around, ready to face it, but Ethan, instead, put his hand on the dark wall and started to tentatively feel about.

"Where is it?" hissed Benny to Sarah.

"Here," said Ethan, having found what he was looking for. Pulling it into the light, he showed it to them. It was a speaker just like the one Igor had rigged up in the woods. As Ethan held it, it vibrated crazily to another loud moan. Suddenly, Benny understood. "It _is_ the same – it's just a looped recording. But why?"

Ethan pointed behind him at the door. "To lure unsuspecting people here, I suppose."

"Well, now we _are_ here, what's the difference between us being lured here or not?" asked Rory, glancing about him.

"A very good question," came a voice from the doorway, the door having opened silently while they were looking at the speaker.

With a collective gulp, and feeling extremely stupid, they turned slowly to see what the consequences of being found in the trap might be.


	60. The Crooked Man - Part 6

**Of what is past, or passing, or to come.**

They turned to see a man with wild hair and a long white rubber coat, his arms folded. He smiled sinisterly. "Are you going to come quietly, or…?"

"Run!" shouted Sarah, leading them back off down the corridor. The man shook his head and sighed. Out of doors along the hallway came dozens more people, similarly dressed, completely blocking the corridor.

Snarling, Rory and Sarah slashed at them, carving a path through, while Benny sent off flashes to disorientate and stun. With a few kicks, shoves and punches, they made it out of the melee and pelted around a corner, out of sight.

They leant against the wall, breathing quickly. "That was close," said Benny, head bent over as he panted for breath. Sarah nodded, urgently scanning the way ahead.

"We made it," she agreed, not taking her eyes off the bend. "But why aren't they following?"

"Maybe they don't want us," suggested Benny, turning to stand next to her

"Or," said Rory, in a shaking voice, "they think that we'll go back willingly."

"Why?" said Benny, scornfully. "To rescue that lying creep Igor?"

"No," said Rory, sadly. "To rescue Ethan."

Benny and Sarah looked about them, their mouths slowly opening in horror. Ethan was nowhere to be seen.

* * *

"So, you're a Seer, are you?" asked the wild eyed man of Ethan, who was being held by the scruff of his neck with his feet dangling towards the floor by another white-coated figure. "But you didn't see this coming? Not much use, are you?" He jabbed Ethan in the chest. "Far too slow. In both senses."

"Let me go!" said Ethan, hotly, not really expecting it to work.

The man shrugged. "Fine."

Ethan dropped to the floor in a heap. Before he could gather himself to his feet, a hand had grabbed him and wrapped a chain around his arms, securing him to a loop in the wall, before shackling his feet and gagging him.

The first man stood over Ethan and smiled, in a slightly unhinged manner, down at him. "How long do you think it will be before your friends realise that you've been left behind?"

Ethan looked up at him sullenly, refusing to betray any emotion. Bored, the man turned away.

"And now we will deal with _you_," he said heading to a large vertical operating table where Igor lay, firmly strapped down.

"Doctor…" croaked Igor, looking around the room, his eyes widening. "And Doctor, and Doctor, and Doctor… Ah."

"Indeed. We're all the people that you have 'helped' over the years, Igor. And now it's time for you to really help us, instead of just taking our money and running away before the actual experiment."

"So, the storming?"

"Faked, Igor. It was just us. We knew you'd come back for your box of tricks, and so we brought the body down here, to fool you into thinking that you had succeeded. We didn't reckon on your friends, but they can be easily dealt with. They're sure to come back for their little friend _eventually_, and then they'll regret helping you."

"They haven't done anything!" exclaimed Igor.

"I know," said the man, equably, "but we can't have witnesses."

"Witnesses to what?" he asked. "What is it that you're going to do?"

"Create life, of course, Igor. Or, at least, try, because, strangely, this time we're not so bothered if it doesn't work. We've got a corpse. Now all we need is a brain. Yours."

Igor paled and strained against his bindings. Ethan struggled vainly in his corner, rattling the chains feebly. The group of mad scientists just ignored him.

One of them wheeled a trolley with a body beneath a green cloth near to where Igor was. Slowly, they rotated Igor's table until it was horizontal.

"Ready, Igor?" asked the man, with a leer even more twisted than one of Igor's own. "This will only hurt _a lot_." He swooped down with the knife.

His swing was stopped by a hand grabbing his wrist. Confused, he looked along the arm that had suddenly appeared, and saw, to his shock, that it disappeared inside the cloth covered trolley. In a swift movement, the green material was thrown off.

"Hi," said Sarah, springing up and punching the man. As he reeled back, she snapped the leather straps holding down Igor, before flashing across the room, dragging him behind her. At the same time, Benny emerged from underneath the trolley, and, pushing past the shocked, and, frankly, rather ineffectual scientists; he hurried over to the strung up Ethan, and muttering a few words, melted some of the links, freeing him. Grabbing him, he pulled him unresisting to a dark crevice of the room.

Confused and disorientated, Ethan could see nothing but the solid wall behind them. "Sarah, Benny…? How –"

"Rory!" yelled Sarah. Immediately, Ethan felt dizzy, and he saw the shadows change direction, as well as the aghast faces of the white coated figures slide sideways out of view. Twisting his head, he saw Rory smiling across at him, his hand resting on the gauntlet of a suit of armour, and realised that the whole wall had rotated, just like in the films.

He looked at the armour. "You should be careful with that, Rory. You know they can be dangerous."

Igor looked at them, shocked. "You saved me! Even though I lied, and ran away, and…"

"Well," said Sarah, evenly, "that doesn't warrant us allowing them to _kill _you."

"Which," said Benny, listening to the sound of approaching footsteps, "is still something they sound set on."

"Run!" cried Sarah, again, "And, this time, Ethan, keep where we can see you!"

They did, Igor directing them back to the cellar they had entered the castle in. Exhausted, they clattered down the steps, the baying sounds of the crazed scientists echoing down the long corridor. They slipped behind the iron door, and, carefully counting that all five were inside, shut and bolted it securely.

As they splashed away down the tunnel, they heard the mob rush into the cellar and batter on the door, creating long metallic rings that shook the walls, and even caused the ladder at the far end to vibrate.

At long last, though, they burst out into the open air, and took great gasps of oxygen. They doubled over, panting, recovering their breath and their wits.

Ethan looked down at his manacled wrists and ankles. "Can you get these off?" he asked Benny.

Benny frowned. "I don't know. You know, I quite liked you tied up. I might keep them on you for later…" he said, smirking. Ethan gaped, scandalised.

"Get them off, Benny!"

"Fine, fine," he said, murmuring a few words. The weld down the middle of each bubbled briefly, before falling into two pieces, releasing Ethan. He shuffled away from Benny, eyeing him warily. Sarah found it hilarious.

"Right, they'll be coming after us any minute," said Ethan, trying to recover the situation. "I think this is probably time we went home."

They all nodded and set off into the dense woods. "I only hope that the bus is on time," said Sarah. "It would be awful if we got recaptured at a bus stop."

"Yeah, think of our credibility," said Benny, sarcastically.

"Shut up!"

* * *

Back opposite Ethan's house, the five of them got out and they prepared to go inside. They stopped and turned when they realised that Igor wasn't with them.

"Aren't you coming, Igor?" asked Ethan.

He shook his head, and sat back down at the bus stop. "No, thank you. I've caused you enough trouble. I'll be moving one now."

"Where to?" asked Benny. "You left all your stuff in the castle."

Igor shrugged. "That wasn't real anyway." He sighed. "I think I'll go back home. To Transylvania. I think it's time for a new career." He smiled at them sadly. "I'm sorry for what happened tonight."

"Don't be," said Ethan, rubbing his wrists. "It's all part of ordinary life, here."

Igor nodded, and then patted his pockets. "Here. My address." He handed it to Ethan. "If you ever need me, that's where I'll be. Now, goodbye, and," (he looked around him and shivered) "good luck."

"For what?" asked Ethan.

"Oh, you know," said Igor, evasively. "Stuff that might happen to you." He waved a hand. "Thanks for everything. I'll see you around, maybe, if you're ever in Romania."

"Yeah…" said Benny, uncertain.

"Bye!" they chorused, and headed up to Ethan's house. They went inside, but Ethan waited and watched as Igor boarded the next bus and headed out of sight.

Suddenly, he felt a pressure on his hand. He looked sideways. It was Sarah. "Hey," he said.

"Hey. What are you thinking?"

He shook his head. "Nothing, really, just… there was nothing supernatural there at all, but – but it was frightening all the same."

Sarah nodded. "I know. Crazy, crazy people. But, really, aren't we all slightly - uh - odd."

"Mmm," said Ethan, staring vacantly into the distance. He blinked, and looked strangely at her. "Yes. In more ways than we know –"

"Hey, you two!" called out Benny, "We're ordering another pizza, what kind do you want?"

"And then there are some people who are so predictable," said Ethan to Sarah, a faint smile playing on his lips as he led he into the house, and then closed and locked the door against the strangeness that lay outside. For now, the queerness of his own life and circle of friends would have to be what they pretended normal was.


	61. Episode 11 - Paradise Bitten

**Episode 11! Please enjoy (and review!).**

* * *

Paradise Bitten

* * *

**Of man's first disobedience**

And it had started out as such a _good_ evening, thought Sarah, flashing across Whitechapel. Stopping, she angrily spat blood out of her mouth, tears streaming down her face. She flung herself onto a park bench and watched the red swirling among the dark water of the puddle that the blood had landed in. Emptiness stared back at her. She'd half hoped that if she got rid of as much of the blood as possible, then maybe it wouldn't be true. Maybe she'd get her murky reflection back. She leaned forwards, over the now red tinted puddle. The steady raindrops splashed crimson water back into the air.

Sarah groaned and held her head in her hands, her tears now mingling with the blood that spattered her lips and chin. Who was she kidding? Her reflection was gone, and there was no going back now.

She was, at long last, a proper vampire.

* * *

"Ethan! Duck!" shouted Benny.

His friend flung himself to the floor, just in time, as a ball of fire flew over the top of him, lightly singeing his hair. The orange flames engulfed the writhing plant, scorching it. The plant let out a series of terrible high pitched screeches, before it flailed its tendrils for a last time, and was, finally, still.

Ethan picked himself up, rubbing the burnt bits out of his hair, and walked with Benny towards the smoking, blackened carcass of the sinister vegetable. "Sarah?" he called.

They waited anxiously, before they were answered with a small groan from under a pile of limp vines. With a few grunts of effort, these were pushed aside, and Sarah's head popped out. She looked at them. "A little help here, please?"

They, and Rory, who had extricated himself from the other side of the plant, hurried forwards to drag off the rest of the strong green tentacles that had been crushing Sarah until Benny's timely intervention a few moments earlier.

"Thanks," she said, getting to her feet and dusting herself down. She looked around at the carnage in the school greenhouse. "This is going to be a hard one to cover up."

They nodded. Rory looked at the ground sadly. "I only wanted to grow some roses for Erica," he said, in a small voice.

Ethan patted him gently on the shoulder. "I know. It's not your fault that a ten foot monster plant grew instead. It's not like it was written on the packet."

"Er…" said Rory, looking away. The others looked at him witheringly. "What?" he cried, defensive, "They were sold as 'Monster Roses'. I thought –"

"Exactly…" muttered Benny, picking his way over the wreckage. Rory followed, crestfallen, and Sarah walked after them out of the greenhouse. Ethan went to follow, but was struck by something. He bent down. On a long stalk, miraculously saved from the ruin of the plant, lay a single, perfect rose. Carefully avoiding the thorns, he broke it off. He looked at it thoughtfully. He blushed. Maybe he should give it to –

"Ethan!" called Sarah, making him start, causing his finger to slip and the rose to draw blood. "Are you coming?"

"Yeah!" he shouted back, sucking his cut finger as he stood up. He flicked it irritably, sending a tiny splash of blood to spray across the damp floor. The little rivulets squirmed and twisted in the water, before quickly dissipating. Ethan didn't notice, though, as he was already striding out of the room, the rose clasped behind his back.

* * *

"Well, that's enough work for one night," said Sarah, going over to Ethan's fridge and taking out the flask of blood substitute that she had left their earlier. "And now I'm famished!"

She unscrewed the lid and set the bottle down by the edge of the table while she hunted for a glass. For some reason it tasted (slightly) better that way. Not as much like shoes. Rory followed her.

"I can help!" he said, leaning forwards eagerly. Sarah swiftly moved the flask away from its precarious position to the middle of the draining board. Rory looked at her, perplexed.

"I don't want any accidents, Rory. That's the last of it until Benny's grandma gets back tomorrow," she said, stern. He nodded cheerily. She looked across at Benny, who was slumped in a chair, flicking through the pizza delivery menu. "It _is _tomorrow, isn't it? I don't think I could last much longer than that."

He nodded distractedly. "Mm-hmm. About half-past seven tomorrow morning. Now, Ethan, pepperoni or spaghetti? Ethan?"

Ethan shuffled into the room, looking a little awkward.

Sarah frowned. "Why are you holding one hand behind your back, Ethan?"

He bit his lip, and flushed pink. "Uh, well, I –"

"Spit it out, Ethan!" said Benny.

Ethan's blush darkened a little further. In a jerky movement, he produced the flower. "I found this – it came from the plant –" he stammered.

The three of them looked at him as he thrust it out between them. His hand trembled, and it wobbled back and forth across the kitchen, oscillating between the three of them.

"Well," said Benny, coolly folding the menu and leaning back in his chair, hands behind his head, "are you going to give it to one of us, Ethan, or are you just going to contemplate it like you're in a really girly version of Macbeth?"

"Uh – right," he said, making a sudden decision. "Rory," he said, clumsily jabbing it at him. "Give it to – Erica."

Rory took it from him reverentially, but the moment was broken by a loud clatter as Benny toppled over backwards, smacking into the work surface as he fell.

"Benny!" shrieked Ethan, catapulting himself over the table to try and stop his friend's fall. He was too late, though, and could only help a slightly dazed, and rather embarrassed, Benny to his feet. Refocusing his eyes, Benny tottered forwards and backwards as he regained his balance. As Sarah and Ethan both went to support him, one of their elbows flew out and knocked the already wobbling flask over.

They could only watch in dismay as the thick red liquid drained away into the sink.

"I- I'm really sorry, Sarah –" started Benny. She shook her head, cutting him off.

"It's not your fault, Benny. It was me being clumsy, probably." She picked up the bottle and tipped it to her mouth. Nothing. It was completely empty. "I'm sure that I can survive until the morning. What about you? Are you OK?"

Benny rubbed the back of his head and winced. "Nothing that a lie down won't cure… Ow…"

He looked very sorry for himself. Ethan, who had by now got over his flurried panic, rolled his eyes at him. "Don't expect much sympathy, Benny. That was all your own fault."

Benny pouted. "Won't you kiss it better for me, Ethan?" he said in a childlike voice, opening his eyes wide and pleading.

Ethan laughed, slightly uncertainly. "Go home, Benny."

He nodded, and, with carefully exaggerated disappointment, left the room, passing Rory, who the others had just noticed again. He had been gazing lovingly at the flower for the whole time. Sarah coughed. "Rory?"

He looked up. "Hey, where's Benny gone?"

Grinning, the other two shook their heads, while Rory just looked confused.

"I'll just go and find Erica, and give her this," he said, beaming, and flashing out of the door.

"Such a waste," said Sarah, sadly, staring after him, her stomach rumbling noisily.

"What, the substitute?" asked Ethan. "You can get more."

"No," started Sarah, "I meant the – never mind." She cocked her head. "Is that your mum and dad back?"

Sure enough, the key turned in the lock, and, to Sarah's disappointment, the evening came to an abrupt end.

* * *

The door closed behind her as she stepped out into the night. Sarah clutched at her stomach as it groaned again. She'd suppressed it while Ethan's parents were around, but now she was feeling _really_ hungry. Everything seemed to be swimming slightly. She wished that she hadn't lost all of that substitute. She winced and put a hand to her head. She hoped that she'd make it through the night. It was almost a year now since she'd been bitten, and she had been relying on the blood substitute for, apparently, longer than any vampire had ever done. But now it was getting bad…

She shook herself. All she had to do was get home, relax, and meditate until the morning, when she could get some more. As long as she wasn't distracted from that, she'd be fine. She quickened her pace and stepped out onto the pavement.

"Hey, you, babysitter!" came a leering shout. She turned. It was one of the older kids in school that thought that hanging around at night was cool. "Finished babysitting the nerd?"

She scowled and walked on.

"You can do better than _him_, darling," he said, getting close to her.

"Please," she managed, "I just want to go home."

"I see. Bored to death by the little geek. Waste of oxygen that he is –"

At that, Sarah's long frayed patience snapped. In a moment of sheer frustration, she spun about, bared her fangs and leapt at the boy, her eyes blazing with hunger. Before she knew what she was doing, she had fastened onto his neck and had started to drink thirstily.

A scream rent the air.

* * *

"That's odd," said Ethan's mum to herself, putting down the video camera she was carrying. "Sarah left her drinks flask here. I still find it strange that she brings her own soup. There's plenty of food here, she only needs to ask. Sometimes I wish Ethan and Benny were as restrained as she is."

She sniffed the container and wrinkled her nose. "Well, maybe she's got strange tastes…" she muttered, screwing the lid back on. "She can't have gone far." She walked out of the kitchen, only to slip back in a moment later. "Camera!" she said, slapping herself on the forehead. "This video diary of _everything_ is going to get tedious," she murmured, going to open the door.

"Sarah?" she called, looking for the babysitter. "You left your –"

As she looked out into the street for her, she could only scream in terror, and, after a moment of frozen fear, slam and lock the door.

* * *

The scream brought Sarah back to herself. Realising what she had done, she ripped herself, horrified, away from the neck. She didn't see the closing door, but she knew from the scream that she had been spotted. The boy collapsed at her feet. Revolted and distraught, Sarah started to run, hoping to get as far away as possible.


	62. Paradise Bitten - Part 2

**What in me is dark illumine, what is low raise and support**

Whistling to himself – somewhat off-key – Ethan left the bathroom and headed into his bedroom, wrapped up in a big fluffy towel. As he dried his hair, he looked at himself in the mirror and tried to make his hair stick up a bit like Benny's did. Unable to get it to do anything except, as usual, hug his head fairly messily, he gave up, and, with a resigned sigh, turned away from the mirror to dress.

On turning, Ethan received such a shock that he lost his grip on the towel. Sarah had been standing right behind him, not reflected in the mirror. Fortunately, his reflexes outpaced his stunned brain, and he caught his towel before it fell past his waist, and so, to the mild relief of his embarrassment, only exposed his upper body. Sarah, though, seemed much too preoccupied to even notice this.

"Uh – hi, Sarah – Was – was there something?" he stammered, scarlet, carefully tugging the towel back up and tucking the corner in more securely. Then, something nagging at the edge of his memory, he glanced back into the mirror. He looked into his red face. He turned his head back towards Sarah. "Oh."

She nodded, looking at the floor.

"What happened?"

"There – there was this guy, and he just made me so _angry_, making fun of – uh, you, and I just _snapped_- and, then – I –"

She broke off into stifled sobs. Careful not to disturb the careful arranged folds of his towel, Ethan patted her gently on the shoulder. "There, there…" he mumbled, unsure what to say. He guided her to his bed and gave her a tissue.

Wiping her eyes, she looked up at him, and, seeming to calm down, a more normal expression crossed her face, followed by one of mild concern. "Er, Ethan – is this a bad time?"

He blushed furiously. "Uh, well, this is important, I guess…"

"Well, it's just that I invited –"

There was a tap at the window, and in came Erica, closing the window behind her. Ethan went a little redder.

"Morning, nerd. Nice – uh – _towel._" Ethan pulled it a little more tightly about himself, raising a smile from the blonde vampire. She then looked, more seriously, at Sarah.

"So, finally decided to bite someone, eh? Joined the grown-up vampires?"

Sarah's upper lip quivered and, instantly, Erica was beside her, displaying a much more sympathetic side to her than Ethan expected. Ethan had started forwards as well, and now just hovered awkwardly nearby. Erica put her arm around Sarah, murmuring soothingly to her.

"It was just – I've never felt like that…" Sarah gabbled.

"It's OK, Sarah," said Erica in a soft voice. "There's nothing that could have stopped you. And it's not like you did any permanent damage, is it? And, if you don't want to, you don't have to do it again."

She pushed Sarah's hair out of her face, and, taking the tissue from her, wiped off the tear stains from her cheeks. "It'll be alright, Sarah. Nothing has really changed. You're just – properly immortal."

Sarah nodded morosely. "But I don't _want_ to be immortal. I don't _want_ to drink blood."

"There could still be a way out of it," said Ethan. "Vampirism is not well understood. It could be possible to run back. We just have to keep looking."

Sarah smiled weakly, and then another, more embarrassed, look travelled across her face. "There's something else, actually," she sniffed. "Last night, when I – you know – your mum saw me, Ethan. And she's got a video."

Ethan paled. "Ah. Not good."

Sarah nodded glumly. "That's why I invited Erica here. We need to talk about what we're going to do."

Ethan grimaced. "Yeah. But, uh, could it wait until –"

There was another rap at the window. Outside, waving crazily, was Rory. Sarah sprang up to let him in. He grinned dopily at Erica, who got up from the bed and went to stand in the opposite corner of the room from him, a derisive sneer on her face.

"Hi!" he said, brightly.

"Shhh!" hissed Sarah, urgently.

Rory nodded obediently, before giving her a sympathetic smile. Then his gaze slipped to Ethan. He frowned. "Are you -?"

"No…" sighed Ethan, sitting down the bed, now an odd puce colour.

Rory looked curiously at Sarah. "What's the problem? You said that you bit someone, but that there's also a bigger problem?"

Sarah nodded. "Yeah. I'll explain when –"

"You've invited _more_ people round?" groaned Ethan. "Who –"

"Benny!" came a shout as the door burst open.

Ethan rolled his eyes. "I should have guessed," he muttered, as he went almost purple with embarrassment as Benny raised an eyebrow at his lack of clothes.

"Going to school like that, Ethan?" he asked, smiling.

"No!" said Ethan, huffily. "I haven't had the chance."

Benny looked across at Erica, Rory, frowned, and then looked, bemused, at Sarah. She nodded at the empty space in the mirror where her blurry outline should have been. Benny paled. "You're a –?"

Sarah nodded miserably. "Yep. A fully paid up member of the bloodsuckers' club."

"I'm sorry, Sarah." He smiled wanly. "At least it's better than being in the losers' club, eh, Ethan?"

"I wouldn't know," replied Ethan, coolly.

Benny grinned, and then turned back to Sarah. She wasn't as upset as she was before. She looked up at him and smiled weakly.

"I suppose not, but that's not the worst part."

"What's the worst part? That it was Ethan that you bit, and then stole his clothes? Is that why he's only got a towel?"

This, coupled with a cheerful smile, didn't cheer her up as much as Benny had hoped. He snapped into a more serious mode. This was clearly a considerable problem. He frowned. "Would it help if I got Grand –?"

There was a gentle knock at the door, and in came Mrs Weir. Closing the door quickly behind her, she looked around the room at them. "Hello, everyone; Ethan." By now, Ethan had gone beyond various shades of red, and was now white with embarrassment. He opened his mouth to explain, but gave up, merely waving half-heartedly at her instead.

She came up to Sarah. "What's the problem?"

"Well, last night, I spilled with last of the substitute, and – one thing led to another – and, in the heat of emotion, I – I bit someone."

"So you're a fledged vampire, just like these two?"

Sarah nodded. "I know that, really, it's not that much of a deal, and Erica and Rory handle it really well, but I so _wanted_ not to become one. I thought it would keep me normal. I was lying to myself. But now what I'm afraid of is losing control again. I – I was frightened of myself."

"Sarah," said Mrs Weir, kindly, putting her arm around her, "don't worry. You'll learn to control it in time. And you don't have to feed off of people, if you don't want to."

Sarah nodded. "I know. I think I've almost accepted it now, but – but there's something else. Ethan's mum saw me drinking blood."

"Can't we just get someone to do the flashing eye thing and make her forget it?" asked Benny, hopefully.

"It's too dangerous," said his grandmother. "Who knows what we could erase." She looked piercingly at him. "_You_ of all people should know how powerful memory magic can be."

"Besides," said Sarah, mournfully, "she's got film of it, too."

Ethan frowned. "But surely you don't show up? Or, at least, you'd be blurry for the first part, and then gone after you'd done the, uh, biting."

"Not necessarily," said Mrs Weir.

"Why?" asked Erica. "We _know_ that vampires don't show up on film."

"That's true, not in their ordinary state. _But_, there is some evidence that vampires can be seen if they are in the moment of feeding. There have been alleged instances of photographs of vampires feeding. Now, we may be lucky here, and it may turn out once and for all that that theory isn't true, but we still need to be cautious."

"So we just destroy the recording?" put in Rory.

"If it's not already been copied, yes."

"And what do we do about Ethan's mum? And what she may or may not have told anyone?" asked Sarah.

Mrs Weir nodded. "I'm going to have to work on a spell for that one." She looked around the room. "Everyone just has to stay calm, and we will be able to sort this out."

The door opened unexpectedly, and Rory, Erica and Sarah flung themselves behind Ethan's bed.

"Hi, Sarah," said Jane airily. She turned to Ethan. "Mum says you're going to be late for school." She walked back towards the door, then paused, looked curiously at the group of them, then just shook her head. "Whatever."

The three vampires got up carefully.

Ethan glanced around. "Are we all done then?"

Benny's grandmother nodded. She gave Sarah a last smile of sympathy, before sweeping out of the room, directing a "Get dressed, dear," at Ethan as she did so.

He sighed, and then scowled at the others. "Would it be possible for you all to go away now?"

"We'd better get going," said Erica, smiling at Ethan's discomfort, putting an arm around Sarah. "Come on, we've got to get you registered with the Council." With that, she opened the window and flew away, closely followed by a loyal Rory.

With a sigh of relief, Ethan got up from the bed and wandered over to his underwear drawer. He opened it and picked out a pair. He paused and glanced behind him.

"Benny!" he said, in an exasperated tone.

"What? I can wait."

"_Outside._"


	63. Paradise Bitten - Part 3

**So farewell hope, and with hope farewell fear**

A few minutes later, Ethan came out of his room, anxious about what he was going to say to his mum.

"Hey," said Benny, springing up next to him, and making Ethan jump with fright. "You were ages, and I started work on this cool new spell!"

Ethan glanced down at the floor. "Why is the carpet a different colour?"

"Not different – better!"

Ethan folded his arms and looked sternly at Benny. He wrinkled his nose. "Fine. But orange and purple are really in this year. You'll regret it." He waved a hand, and the floor reverted to its usual beige, except for one spot by Ethan's door. "Er…"

Ethan just rolled his eyes and went downstairs, leaving Benny frowning at the strange patch and muttering at it. Nothing seemed to work, so he sheepishly followed Ethan down to the kitchen.

"Hi, Jane," said Ethan, looking around and pouring himself some cereal with fake nonchalance. "Where's Mum? I thought she was looking for me."

"Oh, she's outside," said Jane casually, "talking to the reporters."

Ethan dropped his spoon into the bowl, spattering his face, and the table, with drops of milk. "About what?" he said, trying to act unconcerned.

"About that film she sent in to the news," said Jane, gesturing to the TV. "You know, that film of Sarah biting a guy."

Open mouthed, Ethan and Benny stared at the screen, seeing a blurred shape leap towards a large boy, crystallise into the familiar figure of Sarah, and then vanish.

"Is this the first concrete proof of the existence of vampires?" said the voiceover. "We cross live to the house where this terrifying Gothic horror story came true."

Ethan blinked in shock as the TV showed his mother.

"I just couldn't believe my eyes. I opened the front door to give Sarah her flask back and there she was attacking this boy, latched onto his neck. I screamed, and she ran away. It was just fortunate that I had my camera for my film club, or no-one would have believed me."

"How did you know this girl?"

"She is – _was _– the babysitter for our son, Ethan," (here Ethan slammed his head into the table, while Jane sniggered) "and she's always been regular and punctual, every Friday for nearly a year. I had no idea – no idea that she was – _evil_!"

The interview ended, and there was a blow-up shot of Sarah in full attack mode. "Do not attempt to go near this girl. She could be extremely dangerous," said the voice. "Is she a vampire, or is she just a strange, insane attacker?"

"Vote now on…" muttered Benny, switching the TV off. He looked across at Ethan. "I think we've got a bigger problem than we thought."

Ethan nodded. "Yeah. We need to get out of here and fix this." He headed for the front door, then stopped himself, remembering the reporters. "The back way, I think." Benny followed him.

* * *

As Ethan entered the school gates, a breathless Benny caught up with him.

"OK, so I've told Grandma, and she says that the spell she's working on should work if it's transmitted, but it's up to us to find a way to do that. We've also still got to destroy that film. Oh, and she reminded me that we've got that History test today."

"Is that really important, Benny, a _test_?" Ethan frowned as he said it. "Why am I saying that? _Of course_ tests are important! I've got to get studying!" He scrabbled around in his bag. "What was it on? The seventh circle of Hell, or something?"

Benny put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "I hate to break it to you, Ethan, but I think we might have more pressing concerns. Remember? Sarah? Vampire? Everybody knows?"

Ethan coloured, and put the book away again. "Oh, right." He grimaced. "Euurgh. Years of doing exactly what school requires of me is fighting against it. Wow. It's like a proper physical reaction. Like heartburn or something." He stumbled slightly, rubbing his chest. "O-kay," he said, slowly, to himself, "I am _way_ too conditioned to doing school work." He brightened. "That's actually really interesting from a psychological perspective…"

Trailing off, he glanced around at the hallway. "Why is everyone staring at me in silence?" he hissed at Benny out of the corner of his mouth. Before Benny could reply, though, a kid who, judging by his height, must have been a year younger than them stepped forwards.

"_You_ have a _babysitter_? You must be what, sixteen?"

"Fifteen – nearly sixteen…" mumbled Ethan, while the room was filled with sniggers. "And she's not my –"

"Your mum said it on the news!" said the boy, laughing derisively. Ethan went very red. He starting to think that it was his natural colouring.

An older girl joined in. "Would you like someone to help you find your way to class?" she asked, in a baby voice. "Or do you need your blanket?"

"No, he's already got that – and there it is!" called out another as Benny, gripping Ethan firmly by the upper arm, steered him away from the hall and into an empty classroom.

Ethan burned with indignation. "She's _not _my babysitter!" he fumed. "She's _Jane's_!"

"Only because you can't be trusted," pointed out Benny. Ethan scowled.

"And whose fault is that?" he snapped.

Benny grinned sheepishly.

"I don't get it!" exclaimed Ethan, pacing up and down. "So, my babysitter's a vampire, and it's the fact that it's 'my babysitter', and not that she's 'a vampire' that draws their attention. Weren't they paying attention?"

Benny shrugged. "Kids today. They don't pay attention to what's important." He paused. "Also –"

"What?" said Ethan, irritably.

"Well, her being your babysitter is funnier than her being a vampire. One's just harder to deal with." He glanced at Ethan. "Come on, Rory and I _still_ find it funny that you need a babysitter, and for us the joke's nearly a year old!"

"Well, now I've got even more of an incentive to wipe everyone's brains," sighed Ethan. He stared fixedly ahead for a while. "Benny?" he said, eventually.

"Is that the 'I have a plan' voice?" said his friend hopefully.

A faint smile stretched across Ethan's lips. "Perhaps. You and I need to rig up some kind of transmitter to boost the effect of the spell. At the same time, Rory and Erica have to get into the TV station and destroy the tapes, as well as wipe any copies. Then we transmit the spell. All evidence is gone, and everybody forgets. OK?"

Benny nodded.

Ethan looked pensive. "The only problem is getting somewhere to transmit from, but we'll think about that later. Can you let everyone know? Oh, and, is Sarah OK? Where is she?"

"How do I know?" said Benny, frazzled. "I'm not a communication tower. _You're_ the one with the psychic powers. Ethan? Ethan? You've spaced out again…"

His friend blinked. "Benny, you're a genius!"

"Well, I don't like to boast, but – why?"

"Well, alright, maybe not, as, in the end, that probably would have been obvious, but, anyway, we've got to get our machine – when we build it – to the old school radio mast."

"Why is there one of those?" asked Benny, his voice going oddly high.

Ethan shrugged. "They must have used it for something years ago." He looked about. "Right, I'm going to go to the Physics lab to pick up some stuff. You let everyone know, and we'll meet back here and start work."

Benny pulled a face. "Why do I always have to run errands?"

"Because I think up the plans first?" offered Ethan. "If you came up with them, you could order me around."

"Really?" asked Benny, brightening.

"No."

"Fair enough," said Benny, tipping his head to one side. "But, remember, when they make fun of you for having a babysitter, I won't be there to protect you…"

Ethan snorted dismissively. "I'll be just fine."


	64. Paradise Bitten - Part 4

**Came not all hell broke loose?**

Ethan pounded back into the room, with his arms filled with wires, tubes and electronics, snivelling miserably.

He slammed the door. "Benny!" he wailed. "Everyone laughed at me – the whole time. It was _awful_."

Benny looked up from the large dish he was balancing precariously on a stand. "This is you being 'just fine', eh?" His mouth quirked up at the side.

Ethan pouted. "It's no funny. I've really got to erase their memories."

Benny frowned faintly. "What if it doesn't remove the part – never mind," said, changing topic quickly. "Is nobody worried about the vampires?"

"Well, everyone's been issued with garlic and a cross. It looks like they considered giving out stakes, but they ran out, so now everyone just has really sharp pencils." Ethan winced. "You know that kid in the year below? He wouldn't stop jabbing me, trying to make me freak out and do something embarrassing."

"What did you do?" asked Benny.

"I –I coped with it!" said Ethan, defiantly.

Benny raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"W_e-ll_," admitted Ethan, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, "I locked myself into a toilet until he went away. And – it was the girls' bathroom."

Benny shook his head and sighed. "It's going to take more than a memory wipe to sort out your social credibility. I think you're now narrowing in on becoming less popular than _Rory_."

Ethan flushed and changed the subject. "How's the dish coming along?" he asked.

"OK," said Benny, frowning a little. "I'm not sure about these power cables. They seem slightly faulty to me, but I think they'll hold."

"They're the best that I could get," said Ethan, apologetically. "And I'm _not _going out there again. Any news from your grandma?"

"She says that we're to stop calling her for news every fifteen minutes. She'll text me the spell when it's ready."

"Really? _Texting_?"

"Magic joined the twenty-first century, Ethan. Deal with it. I told Rory and Erica about their mission." He caught Ethan's look. "Separately, of course. Neither knows that the other is going." Benny glanced at his watch. "They're probably already on their way there now."

"And Sarah?"

"In some kind of vampire safe house. The Council were apparently not best pleased that she inadvertently revealed the existence of vampires to the world. But, it was her first day, so they were a little lenient. Most vampires are in hiding at the moment. I get the feeling that they don't quite know what to do. They've never prepared for this."

"So vampires _haven't_ joined the twenty-first century."

Benny nodded. "So far, it's Grandma – one, vampires – nil. We're the last best hope of vampirism." He looked thoughtful. "Probably not many people have ever said that."

Ethan nodded, distractedly, fiddling about with wiring. "Well, we'd better get on with it, then."

* * *

Erica slipped along the side of the building. The door to the TV studio was on the corner. Ducking past office windows, she sneaked towards it, and eventually came right u next to it. She glanced around. Nothing. She put her hand of the handle and tested the door. Locked. She readied herself to snap it open, when she heard footsteps approaching from along the other wall.

She froze, and tried to draw herself into the wall. It was never going to help, she realised, and prepared instead to attack whoever it was. The footsteps got closer and closer. Erica waited for the right moment. Then, just as it sounded like they were about to turn the corner, she leapt sideways and grabbed the mystery person.

From the headlock, the blonde head twisted around, beaming. "Hi, Erica!" grinned Rory. She released him in disgust.

"That was almost a hug!" chattered Rory, ecstatic. "Here, Erica, have a proper one!" he leaned towards her, arms outstretched. She stepped neatly backwards, and he overbalanced, flailing his arms and falling straight onto his nose.

Picking himself up, undaunted, he looked happily up into Erica's haughty face. "Don't even say anything, dork," she said. "We're here, so we may as well work together, but we are not here _together_. We're here because we need to help Sarah, nothing more. Understand?"

He nodded. "Right," said Erica, "in we go…"

With a twist of her hand, she broke the lock, and the door swung open. A long, bright corridor awaited them.

"Well," commented Rory, "it makes a change from long, dark, _creepy_ corridors."

They started to walk, aware of people working in the offices around them. "According to Ethan," said Erica, "according to the plans, the master copies of the tapes are kept in a storeroom behind the ninth door on the left."

"So, this one," said Rory, pointing. Erica pressed her ear to it. Very faintly, she could hear someone's breath behind it.

"There's someone in there," she mouthed. Rory's eyes widened.

"What do we do?" he mouthed back. Erica smiled wickedly, closed her eyes, and made a small calculation.

She flung open the door with great speed, catching the man inside on the back of the head, just as she's hoped. Going limp, he was knocked forwards, and then lay sprawled on the floor. There was no-one else in the room. Erica softly closed the door, while Rory checked the man over.

"Just unconscious," he said, eventually.

Erica shrugged. "Oh, well, better luck next time, I suppose."

She took in Rory's startled look. "_What_? I'm a vampire. I'm _meant_ to be evil. And, for that matter, so are you."

Rory bit his lip and shrugged, then headed over to the storage files. There were dozens of them. He groaned. "Ethan's really good at filing," he moaned, wistfully. Reluctantly, he set to work, but was stopped when Erica reached across in front of him.

She picked up the CD on top of the first filing cabinet. It was labelled 'Vampire Babysitter'. "Is this the one, maybe?"

Rory took it from her and slotted it into the nearby TV. There, captured in film, was Sarah, latched onto the neck of a boy.

"That's our girl," said Erica. "But, for style, she's only getting a three. Head on attacks are _so_ last year."

"Should we wipe it?" asked Rory. "I don't think I've got the right equipment –"

He broke off as Erica ejected the disk, held it briefly in front of him, and then crushed it to powder in her hands. "Problem solved."

Rory blanched. "Yeah…" A new resolve gripped him. "But now we need to delete it from the system."

"How?" asked Erica, doubtful.

Rory produced a memory stick from his pocket (along with several sweet wrappers, last week's Maths test, and oddly, a hard-boiled egg).

"What's that?"

"A program that Ethan developed when you put that video of him sniffing Benny's hair on the internet. It deleted every occurrence of it _everywhere_."

Erica raised her eyebrows. "I wondered why no-one ever commented about it. I thought that it would ruin him forever. But his nerd skills saved the day. Again." She shrugged. "I'll just have to try harder."

Rory nodded. "I just have to plug this in, type in the title, and the file will disappear. All I need now is to get to a computer."

Erica looked around.

"No," said Rory, flatly, "of course there isn't one in here. That would be too easy. And also no fun."

Sighing, Erica led him back into the corridor. A few doors down was an empty office with a computer left on.

"That was lucky!" said Rory, slamming the memory stick in. He tapped away cheerfully, Erica on careful watch.

"Done!" he said, after a while. Erica turned.

Beaming with triumph, from another pocket, Rory produced a clove of garlic and bit into it. "Mmm!" he said, happily. "It's so good that the school is giving these out for free!"

Erica just looked at him, baffled.

"What?" he said, aggrieved. "I like garlic!"

"_Raw_?"

"The best kind," he said. "Although it does make it harder to feed on humans if they can smell you coming. The rats don't mind, though..."

Erica edged away from him. "Weirdo. Now, let's get out of –"

"Not quite so fast, young lady," boomed a voice from behind her.


	65. Paradise Bitten - Part 5

**With rosy hand unbarred the gates of light**

Erica spun around. A heavy-set man blocked the doorway.

"What are you two kids doing here? This isn't the place for some secret tryst."

Erica drew herself up. "I would never -!"

"Yeah, well, now you're here, you can do better than _him_, doll," said the man, leering at Rory, licking his lips, and putting a grubby hand on Erica's arm.

There was a blonde blur, and then the man was lying on the floor, out cold. Erica, though, hadn't moved a muscle, and instead Rory stood triumphant over the felled man. He smiled, and it was a subtly different one to normal. "No-one touches Erica!" he said, slightly redundantly, as the man was unconscious.

Erica couldn't suppress a smile, though by the time Rory had turned around her face had returned to its normal dismissive cast. "I could have handled it – but not bad, for a nerd."

Rory swelled with pride. "What was he? Some kind of demon?"

Erica looked at the body on the floor. "No. Just your regular creep. You and Benny should watch out – in thirty years' time you could be seeing him in the mirror."

Rory beamed. "No chance of that for me!"

Erica tipped her head. "If you like. Now, let's get out of here before you do any more unnecessary heroics."

"But – but it was _fun_!"

"Tough. Come on." Erica stalked out of the room without another glance in Rory's direction. As Rory stepped over his defeated opponent, though, his exuberance overcame him, and he jumped up, punching the air in silent joy. He was so pleased with himself that he didn't actually come down again until he and Erica had left the building.

He landed in a puddle, sending muddy water splashing up Erica's ankles. She glowered at him, baring her teeth, and Rory skittered away, frightened. He looked up into the black sky.

"When did it start raining? It was fine when we went in."

He turned to look at Erica, but she had already flashed away, only a slight ripple in the puddle showing which direction she had gone in. A moment later, the rain was pattering down on the trail left by Rory as well, as he hurried after her.

* * *

"OK, Benny, I think we're just about done," said Ethan holding up the complicated device. It wobbled ominously.

"Yeah…" said Benny, dubious, prodding it and half expecting it to collapse.

"Hey!" said Ethan, covering it protectively. "You might break it."

"Better it breaks now than later," argued Benny.

"How about we not break it at all?" responded Ethan, hugging it a little closer. There was a tiny crunch, and Ethan went very red. "Uh…"

Benny raised an eyebrow and remained silent.

Ethan lowered his eyes, guilty. He looked back up, frowning. "I recognise that look. That's –"

"Your 'I told you so' face? Yeah, well, I've seen it often enough, E. Getting a little bit clumsy, aren't we?"

Ethan nodded, and then placed the contraption delicately back on the table. He bent over it. "It's only a bit of the casing for the power cable. It should still work, even if it might not pass a Health and Safety check."

"That's a bit daring for you, Ethan," commented Benny. "But I see you're starting with small risks, like getting electrocuted."

Ethan rolled his eyes. "We don't really have time to go and resupply. It'll have to do. Now, let's go and attach it to the radio mast."

Benny hesitated, and then agreed. "Grandma still hasn't sent me that spell yet," he warned.

Ethan shrugged. "We have to attach this anyway, so come on."

* * *

As the two boys stepped out onto the roof, they were buffeted by a gust of wind and pelted with a slew of rain. Grimacing, Ethan turned to Benny.

"When did it start to rain like this?" he said, raising his voice above the weather.

Benny shrugged. "It was to be expected, though."

"Why?" called back Ethan, as they started across the soaking black flat asphalt roof towards the faded red radio mast.

"We're about to climb a radio tower. It _has_ to be raining as we do it. It happens in all the movies and TV shows. Whenever there's a high, exposed area that needs climbing, it rains. It's, like, the law."

Ethan looked up at the steel framework, and then over the edge at the concrete schoolyard below. "It's not even particularly high," he said.

"Yeah, well, it adds a note of peril, because it makes it more likely to slip and fall to our probable deaths."

"Why would we do that?" asked Ethan.

Benny shrugged. "These things happen, I guess. But the hero always grabs onto a lower rail before he can actually get – _splatted_." Benny made a noise with his tongue. Ethan pulled a face.

"TV can't be right all the time," he said.

"_Heresy!_" declared Benny, edging away from his friend. Ethan just laughed.

"Right, let's get this thing wired up."

Each taking a ladder on the opposite side of the mast, they climbed up, supporting the device between them. After a little bit of effort, and lots of wiping water from their eyes, they managed to fix it into position. Taking the power cable, Ethan plugged it in. One of the lights on the side glowed red.

Ethan frowned. "Is it broken?"

Benny shook his head. "Nope. Red is good, green is bad."

Ethan nodded quickly, and then paused and looked fixedly at Benny. "_Why?_"

Benny shrugged. "Why not – _waah_!"

He jerked backwards, almost falling, before catching firmly onto the rung of the ladder. "That was close," he said, wiping his brow.

Ethan looked down. "You would only have hit the roof."

Benny glanced at the roof. It was just two or three feet beneath him. "Still, it could have hurt."

"Well, take your own advice and be careful!"

There was a brief silence, and then Benny's phone buzzed. "Grandma!" he said, excitedly.

Ethan waited.

"She's done it," said Benny, happily. "This spell will remove everyone's memory of Sarah being a vampire, except for everyone who knew before. It will essentially revert everyone's memory to about midnight last night."

Ethan nodded, and then looked pleased. "So, no-one will –"

"Know that you still have a babysitter? No, that joke is back between me and Rory." He grinned wickedly. "For now."

Ethan scowled. "Well, shall we?"

Benny nodded. Ethan held the machine steady as Benny muttered the words of the spell. It glowed red for an instant, and then began to shoot purple and blue rings out. They spread across Whitechapel and beyond, and it lasted some minutes, the sky being lit up with the different colours in a spectacular display.

"That is so cool…" breathed Benny, admiring it. Ethan nodded, his mouth open.

"How long does it take?" he asked, eventually.

Benny shrugged. "It was only a text; I didn't get the instruction manual."

Ethan nodded. "So we wait, then." He scowled up at the sky. "This would be so much more pleasant if we weren't soaked."

Benny nodded. "Yeah. How's the booster holding up?"

Ethan glanced down briefly. "Fine. Still green."

Benny nodded. "Good."

There was a brief moment of silence as both of them realised the problem.

"_Green_?" said Benny, fear creeping into his voice.

"Hang on," said Ethan, his voice shaking a little as he leant in with a pocket screwdriver. "I'll just –"

The power cable, already damaged and drenched, could survive no longer. As a particularly large violet ring expanded from the dish, the cable fused and exploded in a shower of sparks. Ethan was sent reeling back, stunned by the close range explosion. His hands grasped fruitlessly at the air, while his trainers slipped on the wet rung he was standing on.

Before he could even cry out, he had tumbled backwards off of the ladder. He bounced once on the roof of the school before, with a pale expression of terror spread across his face, he dropped off the side of the building. The last look in his terrified brown eyes was straight up at a paralysed Benny.

It took the soft and wet, but sickeningly distinct, thump from far below to startle Benny from his frozen horror.

He raced towards the edge, a wave of nausea flooding through him at what he expected to see.

"Ethan!" he screeched.


	66. Paradise Bitten - Part 6

**Some natural tears they dropp'd**

His heart in his mouth, Benny reached the end of the roof and stopped abruptly. He couldn't do it. He couldn't look down. He didn't want to see. He didn't want it to be true. It _couldn't_ be true. He slumped backwards onto the roof and stared dully out at the pouring rain – the rain that was falling down inexorably on, on…

He shuddered. No. He had to look. He had to know, even if knowing would destroy him. He calmed his ragged breathing, and, on his hands and knees, crept towards the edge of the roof and, with another paralysing wave of fear, backed away again.

He hugged his knees and rocked back and forth, the rain dripping down his face and neck, mingling with his tears. Benny's eyes were drawn to a red stain on the roof where Ethan had first landed, slowly dissolving in the relentless rain. He was no vampire, but he knew that it was his friend's blood. The red swirled, flower-like, and Benny was transfixed by the fragile beauty of the pattern. A moment later it was gone, run off into the gutter with the muck and debris of day to day life. Distraught and obsessed, Benny leaned forwards to try and cup the precious blood in his hands.

And in that action, he peered over the edge and saw what he so wanted not to see.

Benny glanced away almost instantly, slamming his eyes shut, but there was nothing now that could remove the image of the body from his mind. It was etched graphically onto his eyelids now. He reeled backwards, clinging feebly to the metal strut of the radio mast. He retched several times, and then was actually sick. He twisted away, gazing up into the black sky, still seeing the outline of Ethan's body spread-eagled on the ground, a black shape spreading beneath him.

It had only been for a moment, but Benny felt as if he could see every detail: the head thrown back awkwardly, the arms and legs twisted into odd locations, his foot above his head –

Benny writhed and wrenched his head to the side, his eyes shut tightly again, wanting to see anything, anything, _anything_ but the broken body of – of –

"Ethan."

The word slipped out from Benny's mouth as if on the back of a breath, but a breath so cracked and wretched that even Benny was barely aware of saying it. Benny twitched his head from side to side, trying and trying to remove the floating vision of his dead friend. He brought his hand over his face had stared hard at it, trying to forget everything. For a brief moment, it seemed to work, and he focused more and more on the shape, blocking out as much as he could.

Then he saw that the palm of his hand was faintly tinged with red. His hand was damp with Ethan's blood. This was all that remained with him of his friend; this curving pattern of lines of Benny's hand was all that he had left of him. Slowly, grief stricken, Benny pressed his palm to forehead, smelt the blood as he brought his hand to his nose, smeared it on his cheeks to join his tears, and lastly brushed his palm across his lips.

Unable to move, Benny let the water wash over him, half hoping that it would just wash him away. He got wetter and wetter and by now he didn't know what were tears and what were raindrops coursing down his face. He couldn't believe that he – that he –

Benny hauled himself into a sitting position and choked out a few racking sobs. What could he do? With each blink he saw the image of Ethan's shattered form more clearly, with details more graphically depicted every time. Now they seemed to be getting closer, right up into his face, which Benny knew that he _couldn't_ have seen from that distance, but still he saw the staring eyes: once bright, eager, delightful; now lifeless and cold. They needed to be closed, Benny thought, and he knew that it had to be him that did it. That was what he'd always known he might have to do, but until that moment he had never known what it would feel like – to walk towards what was once your living, breathing friend – when all that was gone, and what was left was just – just – and empty husk of flesh and bone.

But still it had to be done. And Benny knew that he could let no-one else do it.

He stood up, unsteady. His eyes, barely focused, lighted on the broken machine with its burnt-out power cable. If only he'd insisted – if only he'd fixed – if only Ethan hadn't – if _he_ had been on that side instead – if –if – if…

With a strangled yell, Benny lunged at the device, battering it with his hands, his head and even stray wisps of magic. He carried on until he was pummelling a smoking wreck, and the heat from the magical energy was bending the support struts of the tower. It made no difference to his mental state, and, his eyes blurry with tears; he stumbled over to the exit from the roof.

Benny passed through the school as if in a dream. His bulging eyes swollen red with tears and dripping clothes made him seem like some kind of drowned demon, while his face was twisted into a terrible mask of grief. Sodden, he squelched along the corridors, passing startled students and teachers, who merely stared after him.

For Benny, the journey seemed to pass in silence and with everything a blur. Time seemed to stop, turning those he passed into indistinguishable blears of colour. His head felt curiously light as he reached the ground floor, as if nothing mattered in the world. Ahead of him stood a blotchy mass of people, all joined into one indistinguishable sea.

His vision cleared into a crystalline sharpness, though, as the sea parted, and he saw each and every one of the concerned faces pointed in his direction. Outside he could see another huddle of people, and, as he walked towards it, an avenue of people opened up for him. At the far end, pounded by the rain, lay a single shoe: forlorn, abandoned, Ethan's.

Benny walked towards it, his eyes fixated on it. Ignoring the indistinct dark mass in the far left corner of his eye, which was anyway obscured by a fresh fountain of tears, Benny picked up the shoe and brought it tenderly to his chest, where he caressed it lovingly, as the very, very last of Ethan Morgan.


	67. Paradise Bitten - Part 7

**Through Eden took their solitary way**

Benny hugged the shoe for some time, oblivious to everything around him.

"Ethan, Ethan, Ethan…" he murmured to himself in a broken voice. Eventually his shoulders slumped and he drew into himself. Wiping away the tears obscuring his vision, he prepared to turn.

It was time.

With a last squeeze of the shoe, he took a deep breath and –

"Are you quite finished with that?" asked a voice from over his left shoulder.

A pale hand extended into Benny's field of vision, palm open, waiting for the shoe.

He looked along the arm, up the body and into the face. His eyes widened and his jaw went slack.

"But – but – you –"

But everything was overtaken by darkness.

* * *

"Benny…"

Black.

"Benny?"

Confusion.

"_Beeennyyy…_"

At last, Benny twitched and stirred. He shuddered as the image of a falling Ethan flashed across his eyeballs, and then blinked groggily in the light.

He started at seeing the same deep brown eyes only a few inches from his own – very much alert and glinting with life.

Ethan beamed at him, the relieved smile covering a drawn, ashen face. "Welcome back!"

Benny gaped at his friend in disbelief. "But –but –"

Ethan held up a warning hand. Benny could see that it was quite badly scraped. "Don't faint on me again, Benny. I'm not waiting by your bedside for another two hours."

Benny swallowed, and then managed to finish his sentence. "You were _dead_, Ethan. I saw you splayed out on the ground."

Ethan shook his head. "I might have been on the ground, but I wasn't dead."

"But, your feet – it seemed like you had shattered – and there was this dark shape beneath you. I thought – I thought it was blood!"

"That dark shape," said another voice "was _me._"

Benny, wincing, turned and looked around for the owner of the familiar voice. For the first time, he took in his surroundings. He was lying on the bed in the school nurse's room. Sitting in the chair on the other side of him, her arm in a sling, was Sarah.

"Hi," he said, weakly. She smiled in return.

"I broke Ethan's fall," she explained. "I don't know what it was, but it was like something _called_ me to school. When I got there, what did I see but Ethan falling from the roof? I sort of caught him, but, uh, it's definitely not as easy as it looks, and, well, Ethan was heavier than I expected, so, though I took most of the force out of the fall, he still knocked me to the ground and dislocated my shoulder. When you looked – and I don't expect that you took a very long look – you must have seen me under Ethan and assumed that that was the, uh … rest of him."

Ethan grimaced. "If it hadn't been for Sarah, it would have been. What happened to you, though, Benny?"

Benny frowned at him, not believing that Ethan had to ask. "I thought you'd _died_, Ethan. You're my best friend and I thought that you had been killed right in front of me. I just…" His voice died in his throat, and he looked helplessly across at Ethan.

Ethan smiled sympathetically. "I'm fine, though, Benny. Really. I've got a few cuts and bruises, but nothing that won't heal." Ethan paused and then looked across at Sarah. "The only thing is, though, did it work?"

"If it didn't," said Benny, a little guilty, "I, ah, destroyed the machine."

"Oh," said Ethan. He brightened. "I'd say that Sarah just sitting here without everyone screaming 'Vampire!' at her is probably a good sign."

They all smiled at that. "Yeah, maybe," said Benny, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. "Only one way to find out, though."

He stood up uneasily and staggered a little. "Careful!" cried Ethan, grabbing Benny around the waist to support him. Regaining his balance, Benny stepped confidently forwards. He turned to Ethan.

"Are you sure that you're OK?" he asked.

"Never better!" He looked keenly at Benny. "You really destroyed the booster?"

Benny nodded apologetically. "I'm sorry about –"

Ethan cut him off with a rueful grin. "No, B., it's just that _I_ wanted to do it."

The three of them looked at each other. "Ready?" said Ethan.

Benny and Sarah nodded.

* * *

Out in the corridor, there was quite a crowd. "How long was I _really_ out cold for?" hissed Benny to Ethan. "Because all these people haven't been hanging around here for two hours."

"Five, maybe ten minutes," said Ethan, smiling.

Benny scowled. "You said –"

"I lied," said Ethan, gaily.

After that whispered conversation, there was a long silence as the crowd watched the three of them. Eventually the irritating freshman from earlier piped up, breaking the silence.

"So, you need your _babysitter_ even here, do you? Dork."

Ethan, Sarah and Benny all opened their mouths to reply at once, but were beaten to it by a new voice.

"Well, at least he doesn't still wet the bed," said Erica, seemingly appeared from nowhere, leaning over the boy's shoulder and pinching his cheek. She smiled widely at him, and then patted him on the head as if a small child. "Now run along, like a _good_ boy."

The rest of the group exploded into laughter at their new target of humiliation. He pelted off down the corridor, pursued by the jeering mob. Over the chaos, Erica met Sarah's eye with a sly smile. She nodded to Ethan and, reluctantly, at Benny, before strolling off.

"I think we'd better make ourselves scarce too," said Sarah.

"But what about school?" argued Ethan walking, a little unwillingly, behind Sarah and Benny.

"Ethan, you fell off the roof. I think you might be allowed a little lee-way," said Benny. "Also, did you revise for the History test?"

Ethan blushed. "No…"

They turned the corner to the school entrance. There, speeding through the doors, was Rory. "Hey guys!" he said. "Everything OK?" He beamed at them, totally unaware at what had happened. He frowned. "Why the sling, Sarah?"

"Oh, you know, the usual," she said. "Making sure Ethan doesn't get hurt." She looked around cautiously. "I don't need it, of course, but that would just raise suspicions all over again."

Rory nodded, looked blank, and then slapped a hand to his forehead. "Oh! The tapes!"

"Yes…?" said Ethan, nervously hoping that Rory hadn't forgotten to do it.

"All wiped!" beamed Rory. "Now, have you seen Erica?"

Ethan smiled. "That way," he said, pointing. "But you'll have a job to catch her –"

Rory had already sped off. At the school door, Ethan took another furtive look around, before –

"Mr Morgan! Where are you going?"

Ethan flushed as Principal Hicks came out of his office, swigging from his coffee mug. "I – I –"

"Home, I hope! You nearly had a serious accident today." He paused, staring into his cup. "And we wouldn't want that on our insurance…" he muttered. He looked up. "You two should go as well. Make sure he gets home safe."

The three of them nodded, unable to believe their good luck.

"See you in the morning, then."

* * *

"So… did it work?" said Benny, looking around as they wandered back to Ethan's house. "I mean, that kid still knew about you having a babysitter, but nobody freaked out when they saw Sarah."

Ethan frowned. "Yeah, I noticed that. Maybe because the spell was incomplete only some of the things were hidden. As long as it was the vampire stuff, then I guess I can live with being known to have a babysitter."

"To be honest, Ethan, I don't think many people care now. You're old news," said Sarah. "You're going to have to come up with some even more unconventional now if you want to be laughed at."

"I'm not that worried about that accolade," laughed Ethan, pulling a face. He looked up at his front door. "Well, here we are – let's see if mum remembers."

He knocked on the door and waited. Soon, it swung open to reveal his mum, video camera in hand. Ethan shot a terrified look at Benny, who nodded surreptitiously. She frowned at them. "What are you three doing back so ear –"

The video camera exploded as Benny finished muttering something. The electrical explosion sent Ethan flinching away tripping down the step. Fortunately, Benny caught him before he could hit the ground, but not before seeing the same frightened look on Ethan's face, which brought back a wash of – well, Benny wasn't quite sure, but it wasn't comfortable.

Ethan's mum was busy picking up the fragments of her ruined camera, and, by the time she looked up at them again, she had entirely forgotten that they were strangely early. She beamed at Sarah. "Do you want to come in and have a bite to eat?" she said, sending shivers through them. There was a pause. "I made cookies!" she said, brightly.

Laughing, Sarah nodded gratefully and stepped over the threshold with Ethan. The wording was just a coincidence. Mrs Morgan bustled off, oblivious to the fears of the three of them.

Ethan turned to look at Benny, who remained outside. "Coming, Benny?"

"Uh… No, I – I've got to see Grandma. See you around!" said his friend in a rush, before hurrying over to his house, not even looking back.

Ethan frowned. "Strange. Well, strang_er_." Shrugging, he closed the door behind him and went with Sarah towards the kitchen.

* * *

**And that's the end of episode 11. I couldn't really kill off Ethan. At least, not with two episodes still to go, anyway. Episode 12 to appear shortly, and, as always, don't forget to leave reviews!**


	68. Episode 12 - Bach From the Dead

**Episode 12. Thanks for all the comments so far, and I hope that you'll continue to leave them!**

**Again, forgive me for the pun. I couldn't resist.**

* * *

Bach From the Dead

* * *

**Was it light that spake from the darkness?**

"I can't believe that it took us so long for our first date, Ethan."

Ethan laughed. "Well, there were quite a few things getting in the way. But we're here now."

"Yes, I suppose we are. And," (there was a pause) "there's something I've been wanting to do for a really long time…"

Tentatively, they leaned forwards, lips puckered, and –

"Ethan!" called out a cheerful voice. He woke with a start, sitting up in bed.

_Crack!_

He reeled backwards, as did Rory, who landed at the foot of the bed. Ethan stared at him, rubbing his forehead.

"Rory? What are you doing here? And why were you floating just above my head?"

Rory shrugged. "I like watching people when they're asleep." He rubbed his head. "Ow. Your head is really hard…" he winced.

Ethan, meanwhile, was just staring blankly at him. He shook himself. "Sorry, you like to do _what_?"

"Watch people while they're sleeping," Rory replied, matter-of-factly, "I don't sleep anymore, but I really did like sleep, so now I like seeing other people do it." He looked thoughtful. "Though, of course, the only people I can actually watch are you and Benny. And he hasn't been sleeping well recently. There's been one too many close escapes as he suddenly wakes up"

"Really? He has seemed a bit distant lately. Do you know what he's dreaming about?"

Rory looked shifty. "Well… I don't know if I should say…"

"Rory! Please? Maybe I can help him."

Hovering in indecision, Rory grimaced. "OK, but you're not to tell him anything. And you might not like it."

"Go on."

"Well, I think he sees you falling off the roof again and again. He always lunges forwards right at the end, and then he wakes up.

"And you think he feels – uh – responsible?"

Rory shrugged. "You'd have to ask him," he said, reflectively. Then he started. "But you can't ask him because then he'd know I was there, and that I told you, so if – if you'd find another way to hint – at –"

Ethan cut off Rory's gabbling. "Yes, Rory, I won't let him know that you hang about in people's bedrooms at night. Although, I'm not that pleased about you being here. My room seems to have become the place vampires go in the morning recently."

Rory looked sheepish. "I would have just slipped away as usual, but you seemed to be about to kiss me, so I thought I'd better wake you up."

Ethan scowled. "I'd rather you hadn't."

Rory looked confusedly. "Really? You wanted to kiss me?"

"No! No! No, no, no, no, _no!"_ cried Ethan, shaking his head violently to underline the point. He drew his covers around himself protectively. Rory eyed him warily.

"Then who did you want to kiss?"

Ethan flushed and looked away. "It doesn't matter."

Rory smiled. "I don't care, just as long as it wasn't my Erica!" After a dreamy look into space, he glanced at the calendar. "Oh. I see. This is the day, isn't it?"

Ethan followed his gaze and then blushed. "A year from when I said that I was going to ask Sarah out on a date? Yeah."

"Well? Are you?"

Ethan hesitated, and then nodded briskly. "I thought I might start by –"

"Hi, Rory," said Jane, breezing in through the door.

"Jane! Ever heard of privacy?" exclaimed Ethan.

"This from the boy who's taken to having early morning meetings in his pyjamas," she shot back, coolly.

"What do you want?" asked Ethan sullenly.

"Your boyfriend left a note."

"Benny was here?" asked Ethan. "Why didn't he come in?"

Rory looked confused. "She say 'boyfriend', and you think 'Benny'? Why -?"

"He doesn't have that many friends, though, does he? Oh, and Benny probably wasn't aware that you were receiving visitors at this hour." said Jane with a smirk.

With a grunt of irritation, Ethan lobbed a pillow at his sister.

"Missed," she grinned. "Mum! Ethan hit me! Well, he tried." she called. Ethan threw up his arms in defeat.

"Fine, Jane, whatever, just what did he say?"

"Here." She passed him the note. "Now, Ethan, you can get back to talking about how you're going to ask Sarah out."

"How did you – oh, forget it!"

Jane looked at Rory. "I bet he's got some kind of lame plan all worked out. Pathetic."

Ethan flushed. "I don't –"

Jane raised an eyebrow at Rory, who immediately caved under the pressure. He nodded. "Ethan was just about to say." Ethan glared at him. "And, uh, I think I'd better be off…"

Rory went over to the window, and leaned out, before turning. "If you want my advice, Ethan –"

"No!" said Ethan, quickly, leaping out of bed and pushing Rory out of the window before he could say any more. With a laugh, Jane left the room as well.

Sighing, Ethan wandered back over and picked up the calendar. He stared hard at the circled date.

Well, this was it…

* * *

His bag over his shoulder, Ethan stood outside his front door and kicked his heels together impatiently. It looked like it was going to be another one of those days where Benny kept his distance from him. They had been getting more frequent over the past few weeks since the incident on the roof. Some days, it would be fine, and Benny would hang around with them as normal, but at other times it was like Benny could hardly bear to look at Ethan.

With a sigh, Ethan made his way towards school. He'd checked Benny's strange days against the phases of the moon, wondering if there had been some kind of werewolf connection. Nothing had matched, though, so it must be something else. Maybe it was linked to these dreams, Ethan mused. He hoped that Benny didn't blame himself for what had happened, because it had been in no way his fault.

Thinking of Benny, he remembered the note that Jane had given him. He pulled it out of his pocket. He read the few short lines in Benny's distinctive – well, practically illegible – handwriting:

_E._

_Grandma says that there has been some kind of spiritual 'wobble' (apparently that's a technical term). We're to look out for anything generally unusual, but she's particularly worried about the possibility of us encountering a ghost. Don't worry, she's taught me all the necessary spells for that – _this _time._

_B._

Ethan raised his eyebrows. He should have known. Of course, asking Sarah out wasn't quite enough for him to be doing today. There had to be a ghost as well. And it would all be happening on a day when Benny was communicating through notes. Great.

As he was putting the note back in his pocket, he noticed something scribbled on the other side. He looked at it closely. This was more hurried, as if a last minute addition:

_P.S. Is today going to be the day when you finally admit that you're never going to be able to ask Sarah out? _

Rolling his eyes, Ethan crumpled up the note and stuffed it into his trouser pocket. He'd show him.


	69. Bach From the Dead - Part 2

**Or music that shone from the word?**

Ethan wandered through the school gate, keeping an look out for both Benny and Sarah, as well as running his, by now well practised, eye over the rest of the students. They all looked … normal, as far as he could tell. Benny's grandmother was rarely wrong, though.

He walked through the throng of people, watching them going about their lives, completely oblivious to the weirdness of Whitechapel. Unless, of course, some of them were _part_ of that weirdness, which was more than likely. Going into the entrance hall, Ethan walked over to his locker. There was another note taped to the door.

_E._

_I think there's something weird going on in the music room._

_B._

_P.S. Asked Sarah out yet?_

Ethan groaned. If this was really how they were going to spend the day, with Benny leaving him messages, it was going to get tedious. Especially if there really was a ghost. He sighed.

The music room was really not familiar territory. Neither he nor Benny had had any musical talent ever since they'd started school. He'd even failed to get a sound out of the notoriously noisy recorder. Fortunately for the both of them, music had rapidly become optional – or, at least, become optional for Benny and Ethan. Ethan didn't remember exactly what had happened, it having happened way back in the first or second grade, but he did recall quite a lot of crying – from the teacher. Both he and Benny had had their recorders taken away, out of kindness, probably, and had been gently discouraged from taking part in a music class ever again. He wondered idly if he'd gotten any better over the intervening years. Probably not.

He should probably check this out, though. He shoved his bag into his locker and glanced around. His heart gave a little jump as he saw Sarah coming though the double doors. Maybe he should – Out of the corner of his eye, in the direction of the music room, he saw something move, distracting him. He twisted his head towards it, to see the back of Benny's head hurriedly disappearing into the nearest bathroom. Had he been standing there watching him?

Ethan looked back towards the school doors, and Sarah. She'd vanished. Biting his lip in frustration, scanned the crowd of people frantically, before turning on his heel and heading after Benny.

A moment after he'd left, Sarah strolled up to her locker. She frowned. She was sure that Ethan had been right here just a few moments earlier. She shrugged. He'd be back.

* * *

Ethan pushed open the bathroom door. It was empty, except for one closed cubicle at the end. He walked up to it and, after a moment of nervous indecision, knocked.

"Benny?"

No reply. Ethan held his ear close to the thin door. On the other side, he could hear Benny's breathing.

"I know you're in there, Benny. For a start, if it had been anyone else, they would have replied to me by now, even if it was just to hurl abuse."

Still no answer. With a sigh, Ethan lifted his arms up and gripped tightly onto the top of the doorframe. With a little trepidation at what he might see, and with a considerable effort, Ethan hauled himself up so that he could see over.

On the other side of the door, trying to peer through the crack made by the hinge, Benny was pressed close against the cubicle door. Ethan coughed politely.

"Benny, I can _see_ you. Stop trying to hide from me, because it really isn't working."

Benny looked up in surprise at Ethan's seemingly disembodied head popping over the top of the cubicle. "_Ethan!_ This is a toilet!"

"I'm well aware, Benny, just as I am aware that you are not using it as such. You're just skulking in here hiding from me. Quite badly, as it happens."

Benny scowled at him. "I just wanted to get away from you. I saw Sarah coming in, and thought that you'd better be left alone."

"But why haven't you been speaking to me? And –" Ethan broke off, his face scarlet, and worried looking. "Would it be possible for us to have this conversation normally? I really haven't got the upper body strength to keep this up, and –"

Ethan's strained fingers slipped, and he dropped to the floor with a thump. Resigned, Benny unbolted and opened the cubicle door. Ethan was picking himself up and dusting his clothes down.

"Well?" asked Benny, sullenly.

"Benny, we can't keep this up. I don't know why you feel that you have to avoid me, but it's really not working. Especially if there's something going on here today."

Benny looked down at the floor and shook his head slightly. Turning, he put his hand on the door and went to retreat behind it.

"No!" exclaimed Ethan blocking the door. "Benny –" (he hesitated) "Is it because of the dreams?"

Benny twisted slowly around, frowning. "How did you know about that?"

"Rory –"

"And how did _he_ know?"

Ethan reddened. "Ah, well, I think that's something you should let him explain. It's another one of those things that make Rory seem weirder than he already is…"

Benny hesitated, and then nodded dubiously. He glanced briefly up at Ethan, before looking away again. "It is because of the dreams. I see you falling off the roof, time after time, staring at me with those big frightened eyes. Then I see you lying on the floor, dead. And there's nothing I can do to save you. Even though I know that you're fine, I just can't stop reliving it as if you're dead. I mean, I don't get the dreams every night, but when I do, I can't look at you the next day because it just brings it back again."

Ethan thought for a while. "I think that I might be able to help you. But you're going to need to look at me."

"You mean you _want_ me to go through that?" asked Benny, pained.

Ethan nodded sympathetically, and the grasped Benny's hand. "If this works, though, this should be the last time."

Slowly, placing all his trust in Ethan's words, Benny lifted his eyes to gaze straight into his friend's. He gave a little gasp as the memory returned. Ethan flinched as the feeling rolled over him, but kept his grip on Benny.

They saw Ethan fall from the roof, the anguished look lingering in their minds. Just as the scene was about to shift, though, Ethan forced out his own memory of the event. This time, Benny saw Ethan's perspective of the drop from the roof, ending with the startled crash into Sarah. Benny saw how Ethan, while winded, was mostly unhurt, as well as the gathering crowd that surrounded the pair who were groggily getting to their feet. He watched Sarah rubbing her shoulder in pain, and Ethan concernedly trying to help her. Then Benny himself entered the scene, distraught and soaked. He saw Ethan running gratefully up to him, holding his hand out for the shoe, and, lastly Benny's collapse into unconsciousness.

There the memory ended, and both of them opened their eyes. Blinking, Benny could still see the horrifying moment when Ethan had plunged over the side, but now the worst parts of the memory had been overwritten. No longer did he have his terrible, imagined end to the memory, but the completed events.

He smiled wanly at Ethan. He knew that it wouldn't be so bad from now on. "Thank you…" he whispered. Ethan twitched his mouth in reply and opened his mouth to say something, when –

"Are you two having a moment?" asked Erica. Startled, Ethan and Benny broke apart, and, spinning around, saw her leaning casually against a row of sinks. She raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Sarah wants you. Both of you. It seems that whatever it is has decided to start causing trouble early."

"Music room?" asked Benny, briskly. Erica nodded. "I'll just go and get my book…" He hurried out of the room.

Ethan went to follow, but the back of his t-shirt was caught by Erica. Holding him close, she hissed into his ear:

"Are you _absolutely_ sure that it's _Sarah_ you want to ask out?"

Trembling a little, Ethan nodded.

Raising a warning eyebrow, Erica let him go and stalked out of the room. "Good luck with that," she called over her shoulder. Straightening his top, Ethan left the bathroom and strode quickly towards the music room.

* * *

Outside, the corridor was littered with sheaves of music scores, as if a sudden gust of wind had rushed through the classroom. Inside, he could hear various thumps and bangs. Waiting for him in the hallway was Sarah. Ethan glanced around. They were completely alone. Steeling himself, and disregarding the inappropriateness of the moment, he made his decision.

"Sarah, I, uh –"

"Ethan, there's something really destructive in there. Is Benny on his way?" interrupted Sarah, unaware of his intent.

"Uh, yeah, he's just behind me, but, well, before that –"

There was a sudden crash and a set of cymbals whizzed out of the door between them, causing them to duck out of the way. Wan faced at their lucky escape from decapitation, the two got up, and Ethan tried to restart the conversation –

"It's OK!" called out Benny, cheerfully, waving his spell book. "I'm here."

There was a blur. "And me!" declared Rory, popping up behind them.

Ethan groaned inwardly. It would have to wait. They turned to face the door, which hung ominously off of its hinges. An eerie silence had replaced the earlier commotion.

Cautiously, they crept forwards.


	70. Bach From the Dead - Part 3

**Music, sister of sunrise, and herald of life to be**

As the four of them stepped into the room, they felt the temperature instantly drop around them, and they shivered.

"Maybe the heating's on the blink?" said Rory, hopefully.

As if in reply, the piano shuddered, a strange sound emanating from its strings. The drum kit rustled, before another cymbal flew towards the group. They ducked out of the way, and slowly, came back up again, staring fearfully at the quivering metal disc that was now embedded in the wall.

Benny put a hand to his neck, as if checking that his head was still attached.

"No, Rory, I think there's a little more to it than that…"

All of a sudden, the piano started to play itself. "Hey, I recognise that tune," said Ethan, over the sound of the slow, sad ostinato. "Beethoven, or something."

He looked at their surprised expressions. "What? I'm supposed to know everything?"

"No," said Sarah, jerking to the side as a drumstick whirred towards her, "but it was hardly a relevant observation, was it? Let's just exorcise this thing and get on with our lives, instead of commenting on its every action. It's probably trying to distract us with the music anyway."

"Don't you need a special licence to exorcise something?" asked Benny, diving for cover under a desk, as set of recorders whizzed towards the group like a set of plastic arrows. Plastic arrows that could travel most of the way through the desk. Benny yelped in fright as the mouthpieces emerged, but their force was spent.

"I think we can dispense with the formalities, Benny!" shouted Ethan, dodging out of the way of a bass drum. By now the entire room was going crazy, with most of the smaller objects flying randomly through the air. The piano, meanwhile, had struck up a cheerful rag. It was rapidly becoming clear that it wasn't just the state of the room that was crazy…

Rory frowned, not quite following. "Guys, why are we trying to make it run around? I don't think we're going to be able to tire it out."

"Rory, ex_or_cise, not ex_er_cise," said Benny, knocking his forehead into the floor with a groan.

"Oh, I get it," said Rory with a grin. "It's OK, I can handle it!" Before they could reply, he had yanked two drumsticks out of the wall, and, to their astonishment, stood bolt upright in the middle of the room. The remaining parts of the drum kit shivered, as if in anticipation. Unperturbed, Rory crossed the sticks, pointed them in the vague direction of the haunted piano, and, in a commanding voice said:

"The power of Christ compels you!"

Stunned, the other three waited for Rory to be messily decapitated. To their surprise, nothing happened. The drum kit stopped quivering.

"As in, uh, _The Exorcist_?" said Ethan, tentatively.

Rory nodded. "We watched it, remember?"

"Don't you have to be, like, twenty eight before you can see that film?" asked Sarah.

"Maybe…" said Benny, embarrassed. "Hey, we could have read the book!"

"Really?" said Sarah, raising an eyebrow. "And when was the last time Rory did that?"

"Uh…" After a pause, even Rory shook his head. He couldn't remember either.

"OK, well, aside from that it's a line in a _movie_, there are several things wrong with saying it. One, this is a _ghost_, not a demon. Nobody is possessed. Two, er, even in the film, did it work?"

Rory looked a little sheepish. "I, uh, I don't –"

"We never saw it to the end," explained Ethan. Sarah raised a querying eyebrow. "Erm... we got part-way through and then Rory was sick. And then I was sick. And then Benny was sick. And then Rory, having recovered, threw up again. We stopped watching after that."

"It was before your time, Sarah," said Benny. "Back when Ethan's mum and dad used to leave him on his own with Jane."

Sarah rolled her eyes. "I wonder why they stopped…" she said, sarcastically.

Ethan reddened. "Uh, shouldn't we be focusing on the fact that nothing is flying through the air any more? Has it actually _worked_?"

Before Sarah could reply though, a couple of the electric keyboards in the room, switched on, and then the room was filled with rapid, high pitched, semi-electronic music.

"Very funny – the opening theme," muttered Ethan. "Rory, get down!" he called. Rory didn't need telling twice as the barrage of various objects began again with renewed vigour, this time including chairs and desks. It was amazing that the ones that the four of them were hiding behind hadn't been pressed into the service of the ghoul as well, but, Ethan decided, now wasn't the time to be second guessing pieces of good fortune.

"Benny!" he hissed. "Now you do it _properly_."

Nodding, Benny flipped through to the right page and began to say the words. The furniture in front of them started to move, so Sarah and Ethan pounced on it in an attempt to protect Benny. Rory was not so fortunate, and was picked up and flung about the room, to be used as just another weapon against them.

"Hurry up, Benny!" yelled Sarah, her grip weakening on the table that shielded them. Nodding absently, Benny sped up his recitation. The sound from the piano increased in pace and intensity. With Benny's eyes flicking over the last lines of the spell, there was a crunch, and the table was ripped from the legs that Ethan and Sarah were holding on to. Left completely exposed, they hefted the splintered pieces of wood that they had been left with and prepared to try and bat away any flying objects.

"I wish I'd paid more attention in PE…" groaned Ethan, flailing his stump around clumsily.

"You always say that…" countered Sarah wryly. "Yet you never do anything about it."

As all the objects (and Rory) seemed to fly towards them at once, Ethan's confidence flagged. "Benny? This would be a really good time to –"

Everything froze. Benny stood up straight, his hair crackling with energy, and a green light pulsing around him. He snapped out the last few words of the spell, and the light expanded to fill the room, before rapidly disappearing.

At once, all the objects dropped to the floor (including Rory, who let out a soft "Ow…"). Breathless, Ethan turned to look gratefully at Benny, who seemed quite exhausted by the long and complicated spell. He saw his friend's knees start to buckle, and dashed over to support him. So did Sarah, and the two of them helped a worn-out Benny to sit down. He smiled at them tiredly. "Thanks, for defending me…" His eyes closed, and he dropped off into sleep, his head nodding to one side.

Ethan looked around the ruined room, and then back at Sarah.

"Now what?" she said.

"Well, I suppose we set about clearing up," said Ethan, resignedly. He glanced at the sleeping Benny and the dazed Rory. "With or without help."

Nodding, Sarah went to get up and start work, but Ethan shot out a hand to pull her back down. He hesitated, blushing. "Before we do that, though, there was something I wanted to ask you. Would you –"

And then the piano exploded.


	71. Bach From the Dead - Part 4

**Heard, beheld, and his soul made answer**

The shattered pieces of the piano whirred over their heads as they held themselves close to the floor. The steel wires ripped across the room, shredding any furniture that wasn't already damaged. Splintered pieces of wood scattered dangerously in a lethal fan of sharp wood, while the black and white keys dropped down like a strange rain in the aftermath of the explosion.

Cowering on the ground, Ethan waited to make sure that everything had stopped flying before sitting up. As if on cue, a key plonked onto his head and then fell into his lap.

"Is everyone OK?" he asked, surveying the ruined classroom.

Coughing from the dust, Rory got to his feet unsteadily. "Where am I…?" he mumbled, looking blankly around him.

Sarah hauled herself up from the ground next to Ethan, her hair littered with shards of wood. She looked at Ethan, concerned, and put a hand to his forehead. It came away bloody. "I think you got a bit of a scratch," she said. "It doesn't look too bad.

From a little way off, there was an anguished moan. "Benny!" cried Ethan, spinning around. His friend was sat leaning against a broken chair, holding a clump of hair in his hand. He looked at Ethan morosely, fingering the corresponding bald patch on his head. Ethan wanted to be sympathetic, but the image was just too funny for him not to snort with laughter.

Benny looked at his hand nervously. "If that wire had come any lower…" He gulped. Seeing Ethan's laughter, he scowled and muttered something. Immediately, the bald patch was covered up with a new growth of hair. He smiled smugly at his friend, who only burst out laughing again.

"What? What's so funny now?" he asked, aggrieved.

"It's just – just – ha – that's not the same colour as the rest of your hair," sniggered Ethan.

Benny's face fell. "What colour is it?" he asked, tentative.

Ethan looked closely and frowned. "Well, er, _mine_, as it happens. Pretty much exactly."

Benny blushed. "Oops… Do you think anyone will notice?"

Ethan tilted his head to the left thoughtfully. "Not in the right light," he concluded. "You might just get away with it. I'm going to continue finding it hilarious, though."

"Ah well," said Benny, holding up his hands resignedly. "At least I didn't copy Rory's hair colour, so it could have been worse."

Sarah looked around at the debris. "We're not going to be able to clear this up."

Standing, Ethan nodded. "Yes… We'd better go."

Dusting themselves down, they readied themselves to slip off. "Oh, Ethan, what was it that you were going to ask me?" said Sarah. Rory winked at Ethan behind her back.

"Oh, uh, well," Ethan paused, and swallowed, before carrying on, "Sarah, would you like to –"

"What on _earth_ has happened in here?" said an outraged voice.

Slowly, wincing, they turned to look at the door. "Er… Principal Hicks… Hi…" said Ethan, trying to smile convincingly.

"Have you _destroyed_ the music room?"

"No," said Benny, decisively. "Definitely not. Ethan and I aren't even allowed near musical instruments, otherwise things break." He nodded cheerfully, convinced that this was a life-saving argument.

Principal Hicks frowned. "And yet here you two are, near musical instruments, and things are broken. That seems to point to you, then."

"Ah, well –" said Benny, blood draining from his face. "This is … different. Not us at all. We just came along later to clear it up. After we heard all the commotion, we thought that we would try and do what we could to help."

"Really? And what caused the commotion?"

"Uh…"

"They'd already gone, leaving the window open," said Sarah, rapidly inventing. She paused, unsure whether the music room actually _had_ windows. "Um –"

Principal Hicks took off his glasses and polished them on his tie. He stared hard at Rory. "Did you just go blurry?"

Rory shook his head. "I don't think so." He glanced meaningfully at Sarah, who turned slightly to see the now wide open window.

"Hmm…" said Principal Hicks. He was still suspicious, but decided that the possibility of a break in was more serious than the ever more unstoppably weird behaviour of these four students. He sighed. "Fine. But the next time I find you four doing something strange, there will be consequences.

Muttering to himself, he turned away, before, frowning, he turned back and stared hard at Benny. "Have you been dyeing your hair?"

"Uh… No?" said Benny. "It's probably just the light."

Nodding absently, Principal Hicks wandered off to his office, preoccupied. Benny scowled at Ethan. "You said that it wasn't obvious!"

Ethan shrugged and stuck his tongue out at him, before leading them out of the ruined room.

"How did we get away with that one?" murmured Sarah as they stepped into the corridor. The bell rang.

"Come on, Ethan," said Benny, quickly dragging him away by the shoulder.

"Ethan, wait!" called out Sarah. "What was it that you wanted to say?"

But Ethan had already been pulled out of sight.

* * *

"_Everyone _commented on it, Ethan," moaned Benny, as they walked home together. "Now they all think that I'm weird."

Ethan prodded his friend playfully. "And they were all realising this now?" he smirked, and then dodged away from Benny's irritable retaliation. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" he laughed. "But, really, what's different coloured hair compared to everything else?"

"Never mind me," said Benny, giving up on his attempts to get at Ethan, "I think that the more important issue here is your miserable failure to ask out Sarah. I can sense a sudden windfall coming my way," he grinned.

Ethan looked at his watch, scowling. "I had until the end of the day. It's not the end of the day _yet_. Anyway, it's Friday, so Sarah will be coming over to babysit – I can ask her then." He looked at Benny's unimpressed expression. "What? It's hardly my fault that every time I tried to ask her this morning something exploded, or there was some other kind of interruption!"

"Yeah, but all that was over by 9:00. You've had seven hours since then."

"It would've been a lot easier if you hadn't dragged me off looking for that Chess Club meeting at lunch that turned out to never have existed," said Ethan, defensively.

"Oh yeah…" said Benny, smothering a grin. "Oops."

Ethan frowned. "If you're trying to sabotage this, Benny, then all the bets are off. It's almost like you don't want me to ask her out."

"Well, I've not acted against you for the last 364 days, E., so, go on, trust me!" Benny grinned at Ethan, trying to look trustworthy. To Ethan's dismay, it sort-of worked, and so he merely gave him a suspicious glance, and carried on walking in silence.

As they neared Ethan's house, though, Ethan suddenly stopped and span around. He stared about him. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" said Benny.

"I don't know… Some kind of tune."

"Maybe an ice cream van!" suggested Benny, looking around eagerly.

"In _November_?" countered Ethan.

"What's that got to do with it? Ice cream is a year round food. Plus," (and here Benny's grin widened) "you can have it with anything!"

Ethan looked at his friend, an expression of mild disgust on his face. "No, you can't," he said, flatly.

Benny licked his lips. "Of course you can! Provided that you've got a good imagination." He thought. "And a reasonably strong stomach…" he conceded.

Ethan stared at him, a little wary. "Well, anyway, unless ice cream vans have got really complicated jingles these days, it wasn't one."

Climbing the steps to Ethan's house, Benny froze, and then turned. "Well, that sounded like an organ. A really _creepy_ organ."

Ethan frowned. "No, it's like twinkly ballet music."

Benny brightened. "Which one? I –"

Ethan grinned. "Having a flashback to elementary school?"

Benny pouted. "It's nothing to be ashamed of."

"It sort-of is, Benny," said Ethan.

"Well, I seem to remember that you never missed watching a rehearsal…" He waited. "Ethan? I'm making fun of you here, and I'm expecting a response. Ethan?"

There was now a more serious expression on Ethan's face. Key in the lock, he looked at Benny, eyes wide. "Benny, you don't think –"

"No!" declared Benny as the door swung open. "I exorcised properly!"

"Did you Benny?" asked Ethan's mum, passing through the hall. "Like in _The Exorcist_?"

"No," said Benny, automatically, "ex_or_cise, not ex_er_ – huh? – uh, I mean – ex_er_cise not, uh…"

She smiled at him kindly. "That'll be the day, Benny. When you and Ethan do contemplate exercise voluntarily, _then_ I'll believe in supernatural forces." She sighed. "Aren't you two a little old to still be acting out your imaginary games?"

"Uh, maybe," said Ethan, hurrying up the stairs.

His mum looked resigned, and then brightened. "At least I'll never have to worry about him bringing home a girlfriend, if he stays so childish all the time."

She wandered back through to the kitchen. After a while, she frowned. What was that sound? Ethan and Benny weren't usually into music.

Shrugging, she went back to preparing her book report.


	72. Bach From the Dead - Part 5

**The light and the darkness of earth were as chords in tune**

"Ethan!" shouted Sarah from the speaker of his phone, with what sounded like an entire symphony orchestra behind her. "Something has definitely gone wrong!"

"I think so," yelled Ethan over the weird combination of Tchaikovsky and Bach that filled the room. He glared at Benny, who was sitting against Ethan's bed with his finger jammed into his ears, looking more than a little embarrassed with himself. "I think our pet magic boy here had made a mistake."

"There's a surprise!" cried a hoarse Sarah.

Benny frowned, not hearing all of the words, but catching the general idea above the racket. He leaned in, and bawled into the mouthpiece.

"Hey, I get it right almost all – most – nearly most – often – not infrequently – some – OK, I don't _always_ get it wrong!" said Benny, irritably. Throughout the whole of his defence, with every modifier Ethan had raised his right eyebrow a little higher. By now, he looked decidedly lop-sided, and his eyebrow long since vanished behind his messy fringe.

Ethan wrested control of the phone back from Benny. "I think you'd better come over. We've got to sort this out – before we all go deaf!"

"OK, I'll be there in, uh, thirty seconds or so," said Sarah.

"Bye!" yelled Ethan, and then he put down the phone.

Benny looked at him with disappointment in his eyes. "_That_ was when you could have asked her out."

"What? Why would that have been the time?"

"She couldn't hear you very well," smirked Benny. "She might have said yes to just about anything."

Scowling, Ethan lobbed a pillow at Benny, who promptly caught it and then wrapped it around his head. He beamed gratefully at Ethan, giving him a thumbs-up. Ethan sighed internally (he never wold have heard himself otherwise). He should have known by now that pillows were not effective weapons. But there was no way that he was risking damaging the next closest thing to hand, his moon rocks, even if they had a better chance of doing more meaningful damage to Benny. Or Jane. Or whoever was annoying him.

He started as the door opened and Sarah walked in, pressing her hands to her ears.

"I'm sorry!" he shouted, "I didn't hear the door."

Sarah nodded, "I can guess why!" Then, from nowhere, there was a crash of three short notes and then a long one, which was repeated and repeated, building in intensity. Sarah winced.

"It's been going through the complete symphonies of Beethoven. I thought I'd better get past your mum between symphonies."

"You're lucky!" yelled Ethan. "Benny and I are on a constant loop."

"What about Rory?" called Sarah.

Ethan shrugged. "I haven't heard from him. I've tried ringing him, but he's hard to contact at the best of times."

Benny started to wave crazily at them from the floor. Ethan frowned.

"What are you doing?" he shouted.

Benny pointed to the pillow over his ears, and then mouthed the word "Rory", before pointing out of the window. Turning, they saw Rory grinning at them from outside.

He came in, and a fourth sound was added to the cacophony. Rory's entry was accompanied by a rousing, and somewhat melodramatic rendition of the Hallelujah Chorus. Rory, though, seemed blissfully unaware of this fact, though, as he still had his headphones on, and was bobbing his head to an entirely different beat.

"Rory!" said Ethan loudly. No response. With a sigh, he tugged off Rory's headphones, leaving Rory stunned by the onrush of sound.

"Wow…" said Rory. "What a noise!"

"Didn't you notice?" shouted Sarah.

Rory shook his head. "I was listening to my new mix tape – would you like to have a go?" he asked offering them his headphones.

"Uh, I'm fine with this din, actually, Rory," yelled Ethan, pressing the headphones firmly back into Rory's hands.

By now, Sarah was looking sternly at Benny, who was now flipping concernedly through his magic book.

"What do you think went wrong?" she bellowed.

He held up a hand, needing time to think. Flipping to the glossary at the back, he made a few careful notes, and then compared the wording. He frowned, and, grabbing the nearest piece of paper, started writing.

"Hey!" cried Ethan. "That's my homework!"

Benny either didn't hear, or pretended that he didn't hear, and carried on writing. When he was done, he turned the piece of paper around for them to read:

_The exorcism spell does not __remove __a ghost; it just __transfers__ it from one host to another._

"So," said Ethan, "it _was_ in the piano, and now it's in – where?

_Us,_ wrote Benny. _It was transferred into us._

"Now what?" asked Sarah. "And, Benny, why are you writing stuff down instead of speaking?"

_I think that it is able to hear us speak, but that it can't see anything. That's why it was, if we're honest, wildly inaccurate with its missiles this morning. Also, it makes me look cleverer. I used a semi-colon a few lines ago. When would I ever have done that in normal speech?_

_What do we do? _wrote Ethan, picking up another pen.

_I've got a plan. (Just imagine that I'm doing the voice.)_

_Go on… _wrote Sarah, dubiously.

_We go somewhere safe and redo the spell. We transfer it from ourselves to some harmless object. Then we come back here and you discuss how brilliant I am until Ethan loses his bet._

_What bet?_ asked Sarah, in a sterner font.

_Nothing! _ scribbled Ethan, blushing. _And why are we even writing this bit down?_

_Where are we going to go? _wrote Rory.

_How about Whitechapel Concert Hall? No-one ever goes there. _Benny put down the pen and looked eagerly at the other three. They nodded.

Ethan got up and made for the door "Come on," he shouted. "We're going to have to hurry if we're going to get this noise past mum and dad."

* * *

"Jane watches TV _really_ loud," said Benny as they approached the concert hall.

Ethan nodded. "I know. And she always picks Saturday morning to watch loud cartoons as well. It's a nightmare."

The massive building loomed up in front of them. No-one knew why it had been built. Nobody in Whitechapel could ever remember it hosting a concert. Whitechapel didn't even have an orchestra to play there. It was a fairly desolate, music-less void, that, for some reason, hadn't been pulled down. It was, perhaps, due to the social aspirations of Whitechapel's residents that they felt that their town should have a concert hall, even if it was unused. It was reassuring to them that 'culture' was there, if only in potential.

The ghost had seemed to grasp what they were planning, though, and the noise got more and more intense as they neared the vaulted edifice, almost crippling them with its high pitch and volume.

They staggered inside, and struggled towards the stage. Benny produced the book, and intoned the words inaudibly. The other three watched his mouth as he spoke. Eventually, his mouth closed for the final time, and with an ultrasonic shriek that knocked every vampire in Whitechapel out of the sky, the ghost disappeared from the four of them.

Silence struck them like a wave, forcing them to their knees. They waited, sound ringing in their ears, and tried to adjust to the lack of noise.

Gradually, they regained the use of their strained senses. "So what happened to the ghost?" asked Rory.

Benny looked around. "It should be –"

The old, disused stage lights flickered on, working like new. They turned, and saw the battered and dusty seats sweep themselves clean, as well as pop neatly back into shape, regaining their rich red coverings. The four of them gaped as row upon row of the auditorium was restored to pristine condition. The lamps glowed with a warm light, and even the air began to smell luxuriously sweet.

Looking around them, they saw that the concert hall gleamed. The stage was fully restored and everything shone as if new.

Then, a beautiful melody soared through the air, giving the four of them a sense of joy as it swirled lovingly around them, caressing the still evening in warmth.

Ethan smiled. "I think the ghost likes it here."

Before any of them could respond, a shower of golden dust fell from the rafters onto the stage, showing up the outline of a man. Removing its hat, it bowed deeply to the four of them, before vanishing.

With a laugh, they turned down the magically restored hall and out into the street. They looked up in wonder at the building, now gilded and illuminated invitingly.

"'The World's First Automated Concert Hall'" read Rory. "I like it!"

Almost instantly, there were cars pulling up outside and interested people heading in.

Benny smiled. "I think that the ghost has resurrected the concert hall! That's not a bad result!"

Ethan nodded, staring at the candlelit exterior. He smiled. "I really didn't expect that. But let's go home. It's not even time for Sarah to come round yet."

He went to walk away, when he felt an arm loop into his. He turned. It was Sarah.

"Isn't it romantic, Ethan… Maybe you should take me here some time…"

Behind her, Rory grinned again, while Benny just looked surprised.

Ethan, though, was confused. "What do you mean, Sarah?"

"Oh, come _on_, Ethan. You've been trying to ask me out all day – all year, if we're honest. Now I'm going to cut to the end and ask you myself: Ethan, do you want to go on a date with me?"

Ethan reeled. This was everything he'd wanted, just being offered to him. His mind raced through everything that had happened over the last year, from his meeting Sarah, to their first adventures, to her saving him from the knight, his time of non-existence, through Hell and Purgatory, and its aftermath, his fall from the roof – everything up to the present moment. One thing pushed to the front above all else. One thing pressed on him more heavily. One thing was constant throughout. He thought about it, and what it meant to him. His eyes widened a little in shock, and he stared at Sarah.

He hesitated, and then made his decision.

"Sarah, I –"

* * *

**And there ends episode 12. I'm sorry, but you're just going to have to wait until episode 13 to find out what he says. And that will be in about a week, because I'm going away. Meanwhile, please review!**


	73. Episode 13 - A Wet Christmas

**13th and final episode here. Thanks for all the reviews so far, and I hope that you enjoy it!**

* * *

A Wet Christmas

* * *

**Rain, midnight rain**

It was Christmas Eve, and it was raining. Ethan sat on the end of his bed watching the rain drip sullenly down the windowpane. Sighing morosely, he looked across at Benny, who was sitting on the chair in front of the computer. "So it snowed in June, and now it's raining at Christmas. What kind of crazy weather are we having?"

"Global warming," murmured Benny absently, nodding with authority. He looked up at Ethan's surprised expression. "What? I listen in class _sometimes_. And they do talk about it often enough."

"Yeah..." said Ethan, "but maybe that's not the cover-all explanation. Especially here." Getting up, Ethan pressed his nose against the cold window and peered out. "You don't think there's something going on, do you?"

"Just because it's raining?" said Benny derisively. "You're getting paranoid, E."

"Yeah, maybe..." muttered Ethan. He turned. "But it's been raining ever since we broke up for Christmas..." He shrugged. "Talking of school..." He gestured at the little pile of paper that Benny was studiously avoiding.

Benny winced. "Must we?"

Ethan nodded.

Benny groaned. "But - but it's so pointless! And slightly patronising. Why do we have to write down and share our New Year's Resolutions anyway? We're not six!"

Ethan shrugged. "Because we've been told to."

"What are you going to write down?" asked Benny.

Ethan paused. Benny smirked.

"How about: 'I will not turn down my good-looking babysitter when she asks me out on a date'?"

Ethan coloured furiously. "I - I -"

"Yes," laughed Benny. "That's how you started, and then you followed it up with probably the world record for the number of 'uh's in a sentence, before finally blurting out a weirdly strangled 'no'. You were hilarious! Plus, it won me a hundred dollars. Which, by the way, you have yet to pay."

"Alright, Benny, but do you have to keep going on about it?" groaned Ethan, pink to the tips of his ears. "That all happened more than a month ago! Can't you just stop bringing it up?"

Benny thought for a moment. "Nope. This is going to be something I'm going to be ribbing you with for the rest of your life! In fact, if you were to go and marry Sarah, I still wouldn't drop it."

Ethan scowled.

"Which," continued Benny, "looks fairly unlikely since she's barely spoken to you since. Oh, and when will I get the money? Because that chewing gum isn't going to buy itself."

"Well, er, most of my money is currently tied up with Jane, but ... I still dispute that I owe you anything. I _did_ get a date with Sarah."

Benny shook his head. "The bet was that you had to ask her out. Which you failed to do. Secondly, presented with the opportunity, you turned it down, so even if 'going out on a date' was legitimate, then you didn't do that either."

Ethan opened his mouth to argue back, but Benny cut him off with a wave of his hand.

"No ifs, no buts, Ethan. You _lost_." Benny hesitated. "What I am curious about, though, is why? She's been your crush for a whole year."

Ethan flung himself down unhappily on the bed and grabbed handfuls of his hair in frustration. "I know! I don't understand it either. It was just that, right there, I couldn't do it. I couldn't go out on a date with her. Something stopped me."

"Like what?" asked Benny.

Ethan frowned. "I'm not sure. It just didn't feel right. Like it wasn't really me that wanted to."

"So who did?" asked Benny. "And what is it that you want, then?"

Ethan shrugged. "I - I don't know, Benny. But I could ask the same question of you."

Benny's expression changed from one of wry amusement to one more worried. "What do you mean by that?"

Ethan stared hard at him. "Well, for a start, why did you stop pining after Erica? All of a sudden, you lost interest in her."

"Well, uh, I realised that she would never have me, and, uh, watching Rory, I saw how pathetic I must have looked."

"And all the other girls? Six months ago you would flirt with anything that moved. Now, nothing. It's like you've become a monk."

Benny went to reply, but Ethan, animated now, continued raising his objections to his friend's scorn.

"And that's not to mention the fact that you made no attempt to even talk to the freshmen girls despite spending the entirety of last year looking forwards to displaying your increased maturity to them. What changed, Benny?"

"I - erm -I - realised - uh -" But a crimson Benny was spared trying to explain himself by a fortunate ring of the phone. "Are you going to pick it up, Ethan?" he asked, pointedly.

Rolling his eyes, Ethan answered the phone.

"Hi, it's Etha-"

He broke off, flushing, before giving a few muted replies. "Mmm ... Yes ... Uh-huh ..."

He looked across at Benny. "Sarah," he said, brusquely. "For you." He held out the phone to Benny, who answered cheerily. "Benny speaking, Sarah! How can I help?"

"I knew that you'd be with him. I think that there's something strange going on with this rain."

"Really? Ethan - I - I mean I did too."

"Well, I think that you should come to the road opposite school. I think the rain is falling there really strangely."

Benny frowned. How could rain fall 'strangely'?

"I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Good," replied Sarah.

"Can - can I bring Ethan with me?" Benny asked nervously.

"If you must," said Sarah coldly, putting down the phone.

Benny winced. Ouch. Very frosty. Even after a month Sarah hadn't yet considered forgiving Ethan for rejecting her. He looked across at Ethan. "Currently not your biggest fan, E."

Ethan nodded sadly. "I know. But what did she want? She wouldn't tell me; she only wanted to make sarcastic comments and then pass her over to you."

"Well, as it turns out, you and your almost-girlfriend have something else in common - you're both paranoid."

Ethan sat up, suddenly enthusiastic. "She thinks that the rain is strange, too?" He narrowed his eyes at Benny. "I noticed that you didn't call her paranoid over the phone..."

Benny raised an eyebrow. "Well, it's bad enough that she won't talk to you. I'm not going to alienate her as well. Anyway, she wants me to go to the school, so I guess I'll work out hat I'm going to resolve later." Grabbing his coat, Benny headed for the door.

Surprised, Ethan shot up from the bed, an aggrieved expression on his face. "Can I not come?"

Benny grinned. "The words were 'if you must' -"

Scowling, Ethan grabbed his own coat. "You must!"

"You really have _no_ life outside of me, do you?" laughed Benny as he led the way out into the rain.


	74. A Wet Christmas - Part 2

**Nothing but the wild rain**

Sarah watched as the two yellow jacketed figures approached up the road. The two of them even wore the same anoraks! She shook her head and sighed. She would have found it funny if she hadn't been so angry with Ethan for embarrassing her like that.

What had he been doing? Stringing her along for a whole year, and then rejecting her. Did he think that it would be funny? Was it some kind of joke to him? She frowned. For Ethan to go through the whole process of trying to ask her out, and then act like it had never been what he wanted to do. Oh, he had covered it in his nervous stammering, but all that Sarah had heard was 'no'. It was so frustrating - it was what she had thought he wanted - what she had thought _she_ wanted - but he threw it back in her face. It disturbed her that she had so misunderstood him.

"Hi, Sarah!" beamed Benny, splashing up to her and wiping a drenched lock of hair out of his eyes. Sarah nodded in response, noting wryly that Benny's jacket was not, in fact, identical to Ethan's and had, as she might have guessed, faint stripes of a slightly lighter yellow.

"Hello Benny. Sorry to drag _you_ out on such an awful day, but you really need to see this."

All the while, Ethan was smiling hopefully from out of his close fitting hood (which, despite Sarah's determination to despise him, she found distressingly adorable), but Sarah pointedly ignored him, and addressed only Benny.

"What is it that you want us to see?" asked Benny.

"Look at the rain over the school, Benny," said Sarah.

Ethan blushed, but decided to try his luck. "Uh, Sarah?"

She looked straight ahead, not acknowledging him. He tried again.

"Look, I'm sorry, but -"

"I don't see anything," complained Benny.

"Look again, Benny," said Sarah.

"Sarah, I - I don't -"

"Can you hear something, Benny?" asked Sarah icily.

Benny turned, frustrated. "Sarah, I'm having trouble working out what it is that you want me to look at, so don't make me listen out for something as well - Oh." He paused and looked from Sarah to an embarrassed Ethan. "Er, I'll just go back to looking..."

Ethan glanced in the direction of the school. "Benny, the rain is falling upwards over the school."

Starting in shock, Benny looked at Ethan like he was crazy.

Ethan nodded his head at the school. "Go on, check again."

Benny did, and his mouth dropped open. "That's weird..."

He looked across at Sarah, who was scowling at Ethan.

"That's so cool!" grinned Benny. He frowned. "But why is it happening?"

"I don't know. I think we're going to have to go in to find out."

Benny's face fell. "I knew that someone was going to say that. I was betting on it being _Ethan_, though."

Sarah didn't reply, only striding away towards the school and its strange weather.

At the gate, Ethan frowned. "It's not the whole school. It's only falling upwards over one area. That's where we've got to look."

"Benny," said Sarah, flatly, "I think that _we_ should look in the part of the school where the rain is falling upwards."

Ethan opened his mouth to protest, but a glance from Benny stopped him.

Sarah vaulted over the gate, followed, somewhat less gracefully, by Benny and Ethan. Ethan caught his foot on something on the top of the gate, and was sent sprawling onto the wet and muddy tarmac. Benny rushed over to help him up and also rubbed some of the grit and dirt off of his clothes, and action which became more and more awkward the longer that Benny kept it up. Sarah, meanwhile, made no effort to help Ethan, just smiling faintly at his predicament. Dusting himself down, Ethan decided to see this as a good sign - it showed that she wasn't wholly ignoring him. The three of them crept across the school yard until they reached their normal late night entrance to the school.

As usual, it took Sarah's extra strength to get the door open, but, unlike normal, once Benny was through, she let it swing back in Ethan's face, leaving him standing outside in the rain.

Puffing the raindrops off of the end of his nose, Ethan folded his arms, sighed, and wondered how he was going to get in now.

* * *

A small smile flickered across Sarah's face as she let the door swing shut, locking Ethan outside. Benny noticed it warily, and his cheery composure dimmed somewhat. This wasn't like her at all. Ethan might have acted slightly weird, but there was no need for Sarah to keep up this constant vindictive response. And, somewhere inside him, Benny couldn't help but notice a slight nagging feeling that he was glad that Ethan had done what he'd done - and not just because it meant Benny winning the bet. He frowned a little. It was as if he felt that Ethan shouldn't -

He shook his head slightly. No. This thing with Sarah had to stop. There was no one like Ethan for working things out. They needed him with them, and Sarah's cold treatment of Ethan (whether deserved or not) was putting them all at risk. He opened his mouth to say this to her.

"Uh, Sarah...?"

She turned sharply to him, fangs bared. "Was there something?"

Benny quailed. "Uh, maybe not..." He paused, and then smiled nervously. As they walked down the corridor, he kept glancing back to where Ethan was standing outside the door. He hoped that he would find his way inside.

Looking up and down the deserted corridor, Sarah (restored to her normal, placid expression) glanced at Benny. "Which way do you think it is?"

Benny frowned. Spatial awareness of this kind wasn't really his thing. He pointed hopefully to the right. "That way, I _think_. Or maybe - uh, no, definitely this way!"

After another spasm of indecision, Benny marched off determinedly to the right, Sarah following, a little doubtful.

* * *

Ethan stared around at the school. Great. Now how was he going to get in. This was hardly helpful of Sarah. He just knew that, given a choice of direction, Benny would choose the wrong one. Long years of playing computer games with Benny had taught him that whatever direction Benny felt was the right one, it was almost always best to go the other way. He just hoped that Sarah had noted that the upward flow of water was clearly to the left hand side of the school. If not -

Ethan was broken from his musings by a loud splash behind him, followed by a small wave of water washing over and down the back of his shoes. His socks squelching between his toes, Ethan didn't even need to turn around.

"Hello, Rory," he said, a little wearily. He slowly faced the gangly vampire, who was grinning at him out of his bright orange raincoat.

"How did you know it was me?" he asked, his face creasing with confusion. "Did you use your Seer powers? Because _that_ would be cheating!"

"At what game?" exclaimed Ethan, exasperated, before giving up. "Oh, what does it matter?" he muttered to himself. "No, Rory, it was just a lucky guess." He caught Rory's suspicious look. "Really!" he added.

Rory shrugged and looked vacantly at Ethan, having already forgotten what they were talking about. "Why are you here?" he asked.

Ethan gestured at the rain above the school. "See how the rain is going up over the school? Well, Benny, Sarah and I are here to find out why. Only -" He broke off, looking awkward.

"Only Sarah locked you out?"

Ethan nodded.

Rory smiled sympathetically. "Erica does that to me all the time. It's only accidental, I'm sure!"

Ethan's mouth twitched. "I don't doubt it, but Sarah did it deliberately. I still need to get in and check this out, though. Can you give me a hand? What were you doing out here anyway?"

"Oh, you know, just flying around," said Rory airily. "I like the rain. It's a bit more of a challenge."

Ethan's eyes widened. "You've been flying dressed like that?"

Rory looked down. "Yeah. High visibility. I don't want to crash!" He looked at Ethan as if he was stupid.

"But what about people seeing you?"

Rory's face fell. "Oh, yeah..." He bit his lip. "Didn't think about that." He brightened. "I can still help you, though. And I can do better than get you in!"

Before Ethan could react, Rory had hooked his arms under Ethan's armpits and flew with him onto the top of the roof.

Startled and shaking, Ethan pushed way, embarrassed, from Rory. He opened his mouth to express his shock, but at that moment he stumbled into the upward stream of water.

Ethan's eyes shone silver, and -

_Blurry flashes of water poured through his mind. He saw the roads become rivers, lapping against the sides of houses. Then a clock face appeared, ticking towards midnight - but freezing, cracking and shattering apart before it could get there. After that he could see all the water turn to ice and -_

The vision broke apart and Ethan was startled by a torrent of water dropping on to his head. Shivering, he looked about him. It had stopped raining, and the last act had been the upward flow of water reverting to normal.

He looked across to a startled Rory. "What just happened?" Ethan asked.

Rory shrugged, mystified. "Maybe Benny and Sarah did something inside?"

* * *

"OK, OK, maybe it _was_ to the left!" exclaimed Benny, leading an irritable Sarah back down the corridor. Hurrying along, they clattered down the hall. "We _really_ need Ethan," he muttered.

They paused outside a door. "OK, I think it's right over here," he said.

Sarah glanced up at the nameplate on the door. "I might have guessed. I knew that that Mr Hilt was strange. He even lives in school. How weird is that?"

Benny looked across at her. "Ready?"

She nodded, and forced open the door. Inside, there seemed to be nothing unusual. It was a normal office, with a desk and a chair, and a view out to the school fields. A bookcase lined one wall.

"That's odd," said Benny, rummaging through the drawers. "There's nothing here. All these books are blank, too."

Sarah glanced around. "I was sure that he slept in here. But there's nothing to suggest that in here."

Benny walked over towards the window. "Is it me, or has it stopped -"

He frowned and paused as his shoe splashed into something. He looked down. A circle in the middle of the carpet was wet. Glancing up, there seemed to be no leak. He bent down, and was about to put his hand on it, when he was interrupted by a knocking on the window.

His head snapped up and he was taken aback by seeing two upside down heads. It was Ethan and Rory. They waved, and Benny quickly opened the window to let them swing in.

"Did you two do anything?" asked Ethan. "Because it suddenly stopped raining, and all the water going up came back down." He flicked at his sodden clothes. "On, uh, me."

Benny couldn't suppress a smile at the bedraggled form of Ethan, which made his friend scowl.

"No, all we did was open the door. And we've found nothing in here except that damp patch in the middle of the room." Benny pointed, and Ethan went over, running his hand over the carpet.

He looked up sharply. "What damp patch?"

Puzzled, Benny rushed over. "It was right here a minute ago. Wasn't it, Sarah? Sarah?" But, with Ethan now present, Sarah was resolutely refusing to speak.

"Oh, for heaven's sake, Sarah! Ethan doesn't want to go out with you! I don't know why, and, by the looks of it, neither does he, but he simply doesn't. I don't know _who_ he does want to go out with, whether it's Hannah, or Della, or someone we don't even know - or_ even_ me or Benny (though that would be _weird_) - maybe nobody at all - _it doesn't matter_ (but I hope for your sake, Ethan, that it_ isn't_ Erica) - all we know is that it _isn't_ you. He still wants to be your friend, but he's not in love with you. He thought he was, but he wasn't. It's not a mortal sin, Sarah! Now get over it!"

The three of the them stared, open mouthed, at Rory, from whom this had just burst. His eyes glazed over. "Did I - did I just say what I thought I said?"

They nodded slowly. Then Ethan burst into tears and fled from the room.

Startled, there was a moment of silence between the remaining three. "Well, I thought that it would be_ you_ running out of the room, Sarah," Benny said, eventually.

"And I expected _you_ to give that speech," said Sarah, a little ashamed of herself.

"Uh, Sarah -" began Rory.

Sarah cut him off with a thin smile. "You were right, Rory. I've been wrong in my response to Ethan. It's clear that he doesn't know what he wants, and he certainly never wanted to hurt me."

"Uh, should someone go after him?" asked Benny.

Sarah started. "Maybe I should-"

Benny shook his head. "Leave him to me. I'll tell him that you're sorry."

Sarah nodded, blinking away a tear. Benny rushed off after Ethan.

Sarah looked around the room. "I think we'll abort the mission, Rory. There's nothing going on here. It must just have been a freak of nature."

Rory looked around doubtfully, and then looked up sheepishly at Sarah. "I'm sorry."

Opening the window again, she looked at him with a great honesty in her expression. "Don't be."

They were just about to leap out, when there was a last interruption. Poking his head back through the doorway, Benny, blushing, called out to them. "Did you see, uh, which way he went?"


	75. A Wet Christmas - Part 3

**Remembering again that I shall die**

"I won't bite my nails?" volunteered Benny.

Ethan shook his head. "You don't bite them anyway!"

"That'll be easy to keep, then!" retorted Benny, pleased with himself.

"Not the point, B," sighed Ethan. "How about: 'I won't eat pizza more than once a week'?"

Benny blanched. "Come on, Ethan, be reasonable! Some things are simply impossible."

Ethan grinned wryly at his friend's reaction.

"I won't use magic foolishly?" suggested Ethan.

"That would probably be a good one," commented Benny's grandmother, in whose kitchen they were sitting, "if it didn't reveal the existence of magic."

Benny pouted. "I don't -!"

"Yes, you do!" chorused Ethan and Mrs Weir.

"All right, then, Ethan, how about if you don't break everything in the house every Friday night, send us out into the rain, get generally into trouble, or nearly eaten, or lost, or burned, or, or -"

Ethan grinned at Benny's outburst. He waved the slip of paper. "I've only got a small piece of paper, B!"

"- all because of your crazy paranoia!" finished Benny, a little spent by the end. "Fine! I give up."

"That could be it, Benny," laughed Ethan.

"What? I will give up or I won't give up?"

"In certain situations, both might be appropriate," said his grandmother, smiling.

Scowling, Benny scribbled something down on his piece of paper. He looked up to see Ethan looking at him with a very strange expression on his face. Benny raised an eyebrow. "Eaten something that disagreed with you? You know, you _are_ allowed to keep some of the sweets you get for Christmas until after New Year."

Ethan rolled his eyes."Like you keep yours past Boxing Day..." Then he flushed, grabbed some paper and quickly dashed something off, before hurriedly stuffing it into his pocket.

Benny looked at Ethan curiously. "What did you-"

But Ethan cut him off with a terse shake of the head. "It doesn't matter." He went a little pinker. "Forget about it." Benny didn't look convinced, so Ethan rapidly changed the subject.

"Do you think that Mum and Dad have finished getting ready for the party yet?"

Benny shrugged. That was the reason that they were at his house rather than in Ethan's room. The Morgans' New Year's party was always a big event in the street with almost all of the neighbours being invited (and those who weren't had had to have done something really bad not to be. Unfortunately for Benny and Ethan, they had never quite worked out what they had to do to ensure that _they_ were part of that exclusive group.). The two boys were always sent away during the preparation, the legacy of an event some years ago involving an elderly uncle of Ethan's, quite a lot of paper chains, and far too much sherry trifle for all concerned.

Mrs Weir glanced at her watch. "I'd better be getting ready. You, too, Benny."

Benny looked down at himself. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" he asked, aggrieved.

His grandmother just shook her head, and, putting a hand on his shoulder, steered him away.

"You'd probably should be getting back, Ethan," she said.

Ethan nodded, and waved sympathetically to a helpless Benny as he was being led out of the room.

"See you later!"

* * *

Ethan unlocked the door and stepped into the hall. It was festooned with hundreds of lights and dozens of banners. He groaned. They'd really gone all out this year. He went into the kitchen, where all the work surfaces were covered with platters of food and bowls of snacks. Glancing around guiltily, he helped himself to a couple of mini sausage rolls.

"Mum? Dad?" he called.

"They're messing about up in the attic," said Jane from behind him, making Ethan jump and drop the food he as holding. Colouring, he dropped to the floor and embarrassedly gathered it up again, before turning to face his sister.

"What are they doing up_ there_?" he said, swallowing and licking his fingers.

Jane shrugged, picking up a couple of crisps. "Dad said that he remembered seeing something up there that would be really appropriate for the party."

"Jane!" said her mother, angrily, coming into the room. "Those are for later!"

Jane opened her mouth, appalled that she had been caught. "But Ethan-"

Their mum cut her off. "Oh, Ethan, could you help your father? He's upstairs."

Smirking triumphantly at his rare victory over his sister, Ethan hurried out of the room, leaving Jane trying to explain herself.

"Dad?" he called, reaching the top of the stairs. A ladder dropped from the attic to the middle of the landing. From the trapdoor came a few muffled grunts.

After a moment, the beaming face of his father appeared through the gap. Ethan was taken aback by the striking similarity it made with Rory. "Hey, Ethan, I just need you to help me guide this to the ground. Careful; it's pretty heavy."

A wooden frame was lowered at an angle. Quickly, Ethan grabbed the back of it, his arms straining to hold it. His dad gradually manoeuvred it through the hole, though by this time Ethan was quite crimson with the effort. As the weighty box slid further down, Ethan had to let it sink into his stomach, which made him let out a small "Oof" of discomfort.

His dad's head popped out again, concerned. "Are you OK?"

Ethan forced a smile, ignoring the pain at his midriff, not wanting to let his dad down. "No, everything's fine," he said.

"Just one last push," said his dad, "and we're - out!"

Between them, they got the large box onto the carpet. Ethan then doubled over, panting, while his dad clapped a hand on Ethan's back and ruffled his hair affectionately.

Eventually, Ethan straightened. "What is it?" he asked.

"A clock!" said his dad, proudly leading Ethan to the front. "I don't know why I've never seen it up there before." He grinned at his son, but his expression changed as he got no response. "Ethan?"

Ethan had turned very pale and shaky as he saw the clock face. It was identical to the one in his vision.


	76. A Wet Christmas - Part 4

**Helpless among the living and the dead**

After Ethan had regained his composure, he helped his dad get the clock down the stairs and then left him and his mum to set it up while he hurried back to his room.

Ethan paced up and down, fretting. He should have known that his visions weren't wrong. He had seen that clock, and he should have been more worried about it. He certainly should have spoken to someone about it. He knew that he had had a lot to think about after Rory's outburst - some things that he now felt that he understood - but he _should_ have put this first.

He ground his teeth angrily and banged his fist repeatedly into his forehead. What was he going to do? As usual, his visions didn't give him a way to stop it, but at least with a discussion with the others he might have created some kind of plan. Now the vision was a week old and more than a little blurry in his mind.

He sighed. Well, there was nothing that he could have done to stop it, and at least the others were coming over tonight, along with Benny's grandma. He glanced at his watch. He had a little over half an hour before they arrived. Ethan sat down at his desk. Right. He would note down what he could remember, and then work on it with them. At the party, if necessary.

* * *

Dressed in a blue shirt a little too stiff for his liking, Ethan mingled awkwardly with the first throng of guests. He and Jane were in a continual cycle of opening the door, taking people's coats (for it was raining again) and showing them through to where his parents were doling out snacks.

Ethan was getting rather impatient by now, since none of his friends had arrived. He frowned to himself, still holding a dripping jacket in one hand and lamely pointing out dips with the other. He looked nervously up at the big clock, which everyone was so admiring of. What was going to happen?

"Ethan._ Ethan_!"

He was startled out of his daze by Jane's voice. She appeared in front of him, and took the coat from him.

"Ethan, door."

He frowned. "Why me?"

She smiled. "You'll want to take this one."

Realisation dawning on his face, he rushed out into the hallway and flung open the front door.

"Hi Be- Sarah!" he cried, rapidly changing tack as he saw who it was on the doorstep. There was an awkward pause.

At last, Sarah broke it with a timid smile. "Hello, Ethan," she said.

He smiled in return and then stood aside to let her in. In the doorway, she stopped, and, very chastely, pecked him on the cheek. "Merry Christmas, Ethan, and - and I'm sorry." She squeezed his hand affectionately. Ethan blushed.

"No, Sarah, it's OK, I - I understand." In a similar fashion, he kissed her back. "Merry Christmas. Belatedly."

Breaking out into laughter, they headed inside, before they were disturbed by a cough.

Ethan spun back around.

"Do _we_ get to come in, or is it just Sarah?" asked Benny, leaning against the front post next to his grandma, with a shirt of a notably finer stripe than normal. He had not been persuaded to part with his jeans.

Ethan grinned and waved the pair inside.

"No kiss for me?" said Benny, wryly, as he passed Ethan. He batted his eyelids playfully at Ethan. "I'll wish you a Merry Christmas and everything." He leaned in close to Ethan.

"Benny!" said his grandmother, sternly, pulling him away and then past Ethan. "Don't be ridiculous."

"Some chance of that..." muttered Ethan, pushing the door shut.

"Hey, hey - hey!" burst a voice from the other side, a force keeping the door open slightly.

Opening it again, Ethan was faced with Rory and his parents. "Hi Rory. Mr and Mrs Keaner." He let them in, stepping briskly (from practise) out of the way of a hyperactive Rory.

"I'm sorry," smiled his mother wearily. "He kept going on about how slowly we were walking. I don't understand, though, as it's only as fast as we usually walk."

Ethan smiled sympathetically, and directed the breathless pair through to the kitchen, before, again, pushing the door to.

"Excuse me!" cried a new voice, and one that Ethan didn't recognise. He opened the door to see two timid looking people standing on the top step. Ethan smiled, hoping to mask the fact that he had no idea who they were. "Is this the Morgans' house?" said the man, looking down at a scrap of paper he had tugged from his top pocket.

Ethan opened his mouth to reply, when someone else answered instead.

"Yes, Dad, this is right."

Ethan frowned. The voice was familiar in sound, but not in tone. He was rather taken aback when the two mousey parents shuffled aside a little to reveal Erica - the Erica of more than a year ago, complete with glasses.

"Mr and Mrs ... Jones!" he said, racking his brains for Erica's surname. "I didn't know that you and Erica were going to be here."

"Ah, well, what with you and Erica being such friends at school."

Over her mum's head, Ethan acknowledged Erica's fierce glare. He would have laughed at the ridiculousness of it, but it would have seemed strange to her parents, and, besides, Erica would have skinned him next time she was free of her parents. He was surprised, though, that she hadn't changed towards her parents like she had changed for everyone else.

He let them in, and they trooped past him towards the kitchen. As Erica went by she hissed venomously into his ear: "Not a word, or I'll rip your nerdy little arms off!"

He gulped, nodded, and then smiled pleasantly at her, before she went, meekly, after her parents.

Raising an eyebrow to himself, Ethan turned for a last cursory look along the road. No-one. Breathing a sigh of relief, he finally closed the door and wandered off in search of his friends, eager to tell them about his vision.

He didn't notice the fog issuing under the door: a last, uninvited guest.

* * *

"... and it's this _exact_ clock that you saw in your vision?"

Ethan nodded, and was about to reply to Sarah, when his dad came up behind them.

"A vision? I should say! Doesn't it just set off the whole New Year's atmosphere wonderfully?"

He beamed at them, and the four of them looked up at it. They nodded, with what they hoped was enthusiasm, and he cheerily went on his way.

Sarah grimaced at Ethan. "Even if it wasn't in your vision, I would still have put it down as weird. It just, sort-of, looms at you."

Benny waved his hands about. "The clock of _death_!" he said, in a low, hollow voice, spewing flakes of crisps as he did so.

Ethan frowned, in no mood for Benny's messing around. (For the sake of Benny's ego, Rory, at least, was, so the act wasn't entirely wasted.)

"I don't know that it's just about the clock, though. There was definitely rain and ice involved, too."

"Well, it _is_ raining," said Benny. "Grandma and I got soaked on the way over. Well," he blushed, "I got soaked. Grandma's been teaching me this new water repelling spell, but I - I haven't quite got it right. All I can get it to do is make the water fall faster on me."

Sarah looked at him despairingly, and then sharply back at Ethan. "Did you see what time it was?"

Ethan nodded. "Midnight."

"Or," said Benny, brightly, "midday!" He paused, taking in Ethan and Sarah's doubtful expressions. "Actually, on second thoughts, it's something creepy that's going to happen, so midnight it probably is. Just trying to offer alternatives!" He glanced at the clock. "Considering that it's midnight in two minutes' time." He glanced irritably at Ethan. "You know, any time you feel like giving us a little more lee-way to work on these visions of yours, feel free!"

Ethan grimaced apologetically.

"Speaking of weather..." started Rory.

Sarah frowned. "We weren't, but, go on?"

"Have you got one of those cool mist makers, Ethan?" he said, grinning excitedly.

Ethan shook his head, confused. "No... Why?"

Now Rory looked concerned. "Then why is there all this mist all over the floor?"

A wave of panic flooded through the four of them, but before they could act, Ethan's dad pushed past them to stand by the clock.

"OK, here we go everyone! Ten!"

"...Nine! Eight!..." chanted the crowd.

Ethan looked at the mist. It seemed to be swirling around everyone's feet. He glanced at the others, terrified. Had he left it too late?

"...Seven! Six! Five! Four!..."

Across the room, Benny's grandmother's eyes widened in shock, and she began rapidly muttering something.

"...Three! Two! One!..."

The second hand of the gigantic clock swept from the start of the final second, heading towards the ornate twelve...

And then everything froze.


	77. A Wet Christmas - Part 5

**Like a cold water among broken reeds**

Frozen in the act of forming the last word, the entire party was transformed to ice. The hands of the clock became frosted icicles, while people formed stiff transparent statues. The room was iced, with all life extinguished.

A blue reflected light filled the room, bouncing off the still figures. The still moment extended for what seemed an age, with time seeming suspended.

Then, at last, one of the closest statues to the frozen clock blinked, sending the smallest of cracks shooting over its frosty cheek. With an effort, the crack widened, and then the entire frigid covering broke in two.

Benny shook the ice out of his hair and blew out his cheeks. That had been rather _too_ close. As he stiffly turned, shivering in the cold, he heard a couple of other small tinkles around him. He looked about, and saw Ethan and Rory also freed and rubbing life back into their limbs. Sarah had not been so fortunate, with only the tips of her fingers extending through the coating of ice. Her face was frozen in its expression of fear – lifeless. Well, _inanimate_, at least.

While Rory and Ethan regained their senses, Benny rushed across to his grandmother. She was as cold and motionless as the rest. Unlike Sarah, though, her frozen face was calm, as if waiting patiently to be rescued.

"What happened?" groaned Ethan, staring around at the frigid room. "And why are _we_ OK?"

Rory tapped on an ice statue carefully. "This is very similar to how I was frozen ages ago. I think it's the same thing that we're dealing with."

Benny nodded. "I think Grandma managed to save us from being frozen, but she didn't have enough time to protect everyone. We've got to work out how to fix this. For all we know, we could be the only people left in Whitechapel that aren't frozen."

Ethan looked glumly around the room. "It had to be something to do with that mist. It was here right before it happened, and now it's gone. I think the last time, when we faced off against the mulberry bush -_ tree_ - we were just acting against a sideshow. _This_ is where the power really comes from; this mist is the thing that's dangerous. "

Rory looked around. "Where did it all go?"

Ethan nodded, his face drawn. "That's what I'm worried about. I think we need to find it. If we can trace the source, then, like we did before, maybe we can reverse the effects."

Benny glanced nervously about him. "Do you think they'll be OK?"

Ethan raised his hands helplessly. "I don't know. I think so. I hope so." A new determination set in his expression. "They _will_ be."

Nodding grimly, Benny and Rory followed Ethan to the front door. He opened it, and they stared out into the frozen street. As in Ethan's dream, it was completely awash with ice. The entire area was deserted.

They stepped out onto the ice. This time, there was no snow to cushion them. "We'd better be very careful on this," said Ethan.

Benny nodded, remembering the ignominy (and, though much less important to his teenaged mind-set, the pain) of falling over. Moving very slowly, and keeping a low centre of balance, the three of them slowly travelled along the frozen road.

"What _exactly_ are we looking for?" asked Benny.

Ethan shrugged. "I don't know. Mist men? Just a giant ball of mist?" He pulled a face. "We'll know when we see it."

"Ethan?" asked Rory, his voice quivering a little.

"Mmm?" said Ethan, absently, keenly scanning the area around them.

"How do we fight mist?"

"Uh…" Ethan grimaced. He had no idea. "Well, I guess…"

Suddenly, Benny's eyes lit up. "I think…" he started, before falling silent, and starting off along the ice. "You two wait for me! I'll be right back!" he called over his shoulder.

"Where are you –?" began Ethan, but Benny was already out of earshot.

"Maybe he had some of that dip. It didn't taste so good," said Rory, meditatively.

Ethan frowned. "What dip?"

"The black one," said Rory, screwing up his face at the memory. "By the clock."

Ethan groaned. "That was _oil_, Rory." He sighed. "Not _everything_ is food, you know." He continued looking for the mist. "Rory?"

"Uh, Ethan?"

Ethan spun around. "What?"

Rory pointed up at the towering grey figure, apparently totally made of shifting, shimmering fog. "Is that the kind of thing you're looking for?"

It oozed towards them far faster than might be expected.

"Run!" yelled Ethan, leading Rory away over the treacherous ice. Skidding and sliding, the pair of them hurried forwards, aware of the clammy touch of the outstretched tendrils of fog behind them.

"You – can – run faster – than me," panted Ethan to Rory.

"I'm not leaving you!" called back Rory, gripping Ethan's hand and accelerating, almost pulling him along.

Glancing over his shoulder, Ethan caught a glimpse of the formless shape advancing on them inexorably. He looked up ahead. They were coming to a fork in the road. "Rory!" he hissed. "I'm sorry – to ask – this, but –"

"You want me to lead it off to the left while you go to the right?" supplied Rory. "I'm fine with that, Ethan. I doubt that it will catch me. You double back and pick up Benny. I'll try and lead it to you, once you've worked out how to stop it."

"OK. Three – two – one - _go_!"

They broke apart, Ethan sprinting as fast as he could over the slippery pathway. Rory stopped suddenly and turned towards the advancing creature. With a gulp of fear, he stood his ground.

"It's me that you want!"

The cloud slowed and seemed to turn towards him. Rory took that as his cue to zoom off down the other lane. After a pause, the mist went forwards. And then split in two. One half followed Ethan, the other chased after Rory.

Glancing back, Rory winced. That was _not_ part of the plan. He hoped that Ethan would find Benny in time.

* * *

Exhausted, Ethan skidded off the road and leant against a tree, gasping for breath and clutching at a stitch. Placing a hand over his hammering heart, he prayed that Rory would be OK. Regaining his breath a little, he glanced up, and his pounding heart seemed to stop in his chest as he saw the mist still following him.

Ignoring the ache of his tired body, Ethan set off in another panicked run, hoping to put some distance between him and the monster. He was sure that it had been following Rory, he had –

His right leg shook slightly, over stretched, and he stumbled, sprawling across the ice. In terror, he thrust himself to his feet again, conscious of the nearness of the fog. He could almost feel ice crystals forming on the back of his neck.

After only another few steps, though, his left leg gave way, and Ethan was sent tumbling to the ground for a second time. Fear flooding through him, he went to push himself up and keep on running.

It was then that he discovered that his hand was frozen to the ground. He looked up. The mist creature was almost upon him. He looked back at his arm, pulling at it in desperation, but saw, to his horror, the coating of ice spreading up it. Looking at his feet, he saw the same thing happening. He was trapped.

Paralysed, Ethan looked up at the fog, his eyes wide with fear. It was now only feet away, but it had stopped moving. It flickered, and then, not to Ethan's complete surprise, morphed into a familiar form.

"Good evening, Mr Morgan," said Mr Hilt, smiling affably.

"What _are_ you?" managed Ethan.

"What are you, _sir_," corrected Mr Hilt. Ethan just stared defiantly back at him. There wasn't really a lot else he could do. "You and your friends have always been troublesome, Morgan. You have been spoiling my plans from the start."

"And what plans are they?" asked Ethan.

"Well, I intend –" The ghastly, slightly blurry figure of Mr Hilt stopped himself. "But no. I don't think I'm going to run through my plan in order to give you some time to work out a way to free yourself and thwart me. I'm just going to dispose of you."

"What are you going to do? Freeze me like everyone else?"

"I would, but you've really been too much of a pain, Mr Morgan. The others will live on forever in stasis, but you, Morgan – _you_ are going to die."

With that, the teacher flicked back to his mist form, and building into a colossal grey pillar, towered over a helpless and terrified Ethan. Two dark holes appeared, along with a larger chasm in the centre, creating a hideous face.

It opened its mouth hugely wide, and swooped down on Ethan, ready to swallow him whole.

Ice forming on his brow, and his eyes frozen open, Ethan could only stare up into the inky void that would be his death.


	78. A Wet Christmas - Part 6

**Towards what is perfect and cannot, the tempest tells me, disappoint.**

The gaping maw grew wider and wider as it bore down on Ethan. He was so frozen that he couldn't even scream.

But then, bizarrely, the creature stopped, but the mouth continued to widen. The black emptiness expanded, filling up the grey shape. As Ethan watched, helpless, the two black eyes seemed to frown in confusion, and then become absorbed by the swelling hole of the mouth. With a sudden 'pop' the mist creature seemed to fall back into itself, almost as if it had swallowed itself. In a moment, the darkness diminished down to a point, and then vanished. Ethan stared at the figure which replaced it.

Benny grinned, and waved the nozzle he was carrying. "Who ya gonna call?"

Ethan laughed, and realised from that that he was no longer frozen. He looked around. With the disappearance of the mist, he found himself sitting in a puddle of melt water. Even the iced over road was melting around him.

Getting, unsteadily, to his feet, and dripping slightly, Ethan frowned at the tube in Benny's hand. "What _is _that?"

"A positron accelerator," said Benny, proudly.

Ethan snorted. "Yeah, right." He stepped a little to the side to see more clearly what was strapped to Benny's back. "It's just your grandma's hoover."

Benny blushed. "Yeah, but –" he broke off, and became more flustered "- uh, it's a _magic_ hoover!"

Ethan raised an eyebrow. "How?"

"Well, for a start, it contains the mist. Pretty useful for you, huh?"

Ethan nodded. "Thanks for that…"

Benny smiled. "That's what I'm here for! Now, where's Rory? I can't believe that he just abandoned you to this thing." Benny jerked his head back towards the hoover bag.

Ethan started, his eyes widening as he remembered. "Rory – Rory led it down the other path. I think it split in two." He looked worried. "But there could be a lot more of them if it can do that."

Benny nodded. "Well, we'll find Rory, and then –"

"Benny?" interrupted Ethan.

"Yeah?"

"Found him." Ethan pointed. Along the street came Rory, moving at an impressive speed, and with another formless shape chasing.

"How did he get there from – Ah, forget that!" said Benny, springing forwards with his hoover. Rory, clearly unable to stop on the ice, skidded past him until he reached the melted part by Ethan, at which point he abruptly toppled flat on his face. Benny, meanwhile, had activated his device (well, pressed the on switch of his vacuum cleaner) and was pulling the fog into the nozzle. After a strange slurping sound, that section of the monster was gone as well.

Beaming, he turned around in triumph to the other two. "This is easy!" he grinned. "I wonder how many more there are."

Rory shrugged, getting up from the slushy ground. "It definitely split into a few pieces as it chased me." He looked, amazed at Benny. "Is that a positron –"

"No," said Ethan, cutting Rory off mid-stream. Benny pouted, but was soon mollified by a sly smile from Ethan. "I think we need to get ourselves some more, and hunt down this mist."

"Has anyone ever hunted mist before?" asked Rory, absently.

Benny looked at him warily. "I wouldn't _think_ so, no..." He paused, and then shook his head vigorously. "Come on!" he cried. "Back to Ethan's house!" He pointed dramatically, and marched off down the street.

"Uh, Benny?" called out Ethan. "My house is _that_ way."

* * *

Picking carefully past the frozen people in the hall, Ethan, Benny, and Rory made their way over to the cupboard under the stairs. Ethan opened it, and pulled out a really old vacuum cleaner, followed by an even older one. Both were covered in dust, which had frozen to them, making them glitter oddly.

"Snazzy," said Benny, sniggering a little as he saw them. "Ooh, and one pink and shiny and one blue and –"

"Mine!" said Ethan, quickly grabbing the blue one. Scowling, Rory reluctantly picked up the pink one. Benny waved his hands over them both and muttered a few words.

"OK, we're ready to bust some gho – I mean, suck up some mist!" He wrinkled his nose, unsatisfied. "It doesn't really trip off the tongue, does it?" he looked up. "Ethan? Where are you going?"

A moment later, Benny found out as Ethan slid down the frozen bannister, a broad grin on his face. "_Wheee!"_

Stumbling off at the bottom, he looked around and reddened at the startled looks of the other two. "Um…"

Benny just raised an eyebrow. "Why did you go up there?"

Ethan tossed him a walkie-talkie, and then another one a Rory. He held up a third of his own. "If we're going to end this, we've got to hunt down the whole of the thing. We've got to close in. If we split up and converge on the school from three directions, then we can eliminate it, and, hopefully everything will go back to normal."

Benny and Rory nodded and clipped their radios to their belts. "Got it!" said Rory, taking a pair of sunglasses out of his pocket, placing them on the bridge of his nose in way that he thought was cool, and shouldering his hoover.

"Uh, Rory … _why_?" said Ethan, after a long pause.

Rory beamed and shrugged. "Why not?"

"True," said Benny, striding towards the door. "Right, then – montage time!"

This time it was Ethan and Rory's turn to look confused. "What?" they chorused.

"Well, OK, it _would _work if this was a movie!"

* * *

… Ethan crept down the darkened corridor, past towering shelves of books, the icy pages clinking together in the faint breeze. Breathing very softly, he followed the trail of thicker ice around the corner, his hand hovering over the button. He readied himself to jump out …

… The frigid street was silent. Benny stared around, waiting. Leaning against a tree, he whistled nonchalantly, hands in his pockets. From the sides of three different buildings, long streams of mist began to issue. He grinned, and lifted the nozzle of the vacuum cleaner …

… The column of mist came to a halt in the middle of the road, and turned around, its black, hollow eyes looking confused. It was so sure that the blonde boy had come this way. Subsiding a little in disappointment, it began to glide off back where it had come from. It must have missed a turning somewhere.

"A-_hem_."

The mist contorted, bending backwards so that it could look straight up at where the sound had come from. The gaps of its eyes widened in surprise.

Rory smiled, baring his pointed teeth, and switched on the hoover. The mist creature gave out a little wail, followed soon after by the distinctive 'pop' as it vanished …

… 'Pop'. A flutter of damp pages filled the quiet library. A set of footsteps could be heard echoing down the hall …

… 'Pop'. 'Pop'. 'Pop'. Benny reached the end of his tune and walked calmly down the road towards the school. "Section 12 cleared, over." …

* * *

Eventually, the three of them came to the end of Whitechapel's three major roads. The school gates stood in front of them. In front of the gates reclined the pale figure of Mr Hilt.

"Evening, boys," he said. "You seem to have had some success." His calm face twisted a little in anger, and his outline became a little fuzzy. He smiled. "But there's nothing you can do with those toys when I'm in _this_ form." He paused. "Just as, admittedly, there's nothing that I can do to you."

"So," said Ethan, crossing his arms, "we find ourselves in a stalemate."

Glancing at the three of them, their erstwhile teacher hesitated, and then nodded, resignedly. "I –"

"You can leave," said Benn, decisively. "_Now._"

Mr Hilt raised an eyebrow. "Or…?"

With a flick of his wrist, Benny hurled a purple ball of fire at him. It passed through the man, leaving him completely unharmed. The gate behind him, though, was twisted out of recognition by the heat.

Mr Hilt's smile widened. "Again, _or_…?"

Benny scowled. "Uh…"

"I think," he said, silkily, "that we can come to an _arrangement_. All I want is a little peace and quiet. That's not much to ask, now, is it?"

Ethan narrowed his eyes, taking a few steps forwards with the others. "But you do it by killing people!"

"Not _killing_ as such. Merely – hibernating. It doesn't have to be for long…" He glanced across at Rory, and stretched out a hand towards his chest. "And besides, death wasn't so bad, now, was it?"

He stroked the outline of Rory's knobbly scar. Rory's normally happy face hardened.

"_You_."

Mr Hilt spread out his hands in acknowledgement. "Who else? I tried to get the girl that you're _hopelessly_ obsessed with to rip your heart out that night; she wouldn't play along, so I had to do it myself. I thought that if I got rid of you, then the others would be frightened off their little adventures. But they didn't even notice – so I sent them after you. But you _forgave_ them. You went with them." He scowled. "You've all been too lucky – I thought dropping Ethan off a roof would teach you, but you went right on at it. You never learn. Any of you." He sneered at Rory again. "And you're the most bone-headed of the lot. You cling pathetically to the others even though they can't stand you – they were oblivious to your death, just as Erica is oblivious to your life. At least someone cares about them. You – _you_ are –"

With a sudden snarl that grew into quite an unexpected roar, Rory flung himself forwards, drawing from his pocket a short, pointed object. He plunged it into the chest of the leering figure.

Mr Hilt looked down. Then he laughed. "You think that just because it's dramatically _fitting_, you can use the stake that killed you to kill me? How very naïve…" His chest became wispy, and the wooden spike dropped harmlessly to the ground.

"Yes," said Rory, calmly, "you are."

With that, he thrust the nozzle into the space where the stake had been and switched on the power. Mr Hilt's smug face collapsed into one of horror, before rapidly collapsing further into its mist form. Within moments, he had been entirely sucked into Rory's hoover.

'Pop'

Rory turned back to a shocked Ethan and Benny, his face very grave. There was a long silence. Then the two of them rushed towards him, embracing him in gratitude. Rory's expression dissolved into one of delight as he triumphantly hugged his friends. Around them, the ice dripped from the trees. As if a shiver ran through Whitechapel, everything slowly began to wake up.

The three of them paraded happily home, Rory borne on Ethan and Benny's shoulders. There was no crowd o cheer, but, at that moment, for Rory, it didn't matter. He had all he needed. Except for Erica, of course, and, as he thought in that buoyant mood, there was _plenty_ of time for that. Eternity, in fact.

They reached Ethan's house, entering just as the party reanimated. Quickly shedding the hoovers, they slipped back into their places in front of the clock, noting the proud nod from Benny's grandmother. The ice fell from the second hand, and it finished its journey towards twelve. Marking the end of a considerable hiatus, the cheer went up:

"Happy New Year!"

* * *

After the celebration was over, and the food had been eaten; after the explanations given to Sarah and Mrs Weir; after the confusion over how light it seemed for midnight; after the surprise of the others on seeing the Erica of old (and her rapid _encouragement_ of her parents to leave soon afterwards); after everyone else had gone home, and all three boys had received a parting kiss from Sarah, Rory, Benny and Ethan stood on the front step, looking out at the tranquil night.

"It's snowing," observed Ethan.

"For real. No magic," said Benny.

Rory grinned. "I love the snow." He looked, affectionately, at his friends, his familiar eager expression forming on his face. "Maybe if it keeps up, we can do something tomorrow?"

Ethan grinned. "Of course!"

"If you're making plans for tomorrow, boys, then we'd better be getting home, Rory," said his mum, coming out of the door.

"But I don't –" Rory stopped when Benny shot him a warning glance. "Uh – I mean, yeah, I don't want to miss sleep…"

Nodding, his mum and dad, walked off with him. Looking back, Rory waved manically. "Happy New Year!"

Benny and Ethan waved back, laughing to themselves. "Nothing wears him out, does it?" commented Ethan.

Benny nodded, and then yawned himself. He sat down, and glanced over his shoulder. "How long do you think Grandma will be?"

Ethan shrugged, and then, after a hesitant moment, sat down next to Benny.

Benny looked across at his friend and smiled. "Did you ever come up with a resolution?"

Ethan opened his mouth, went to answer, and then stopped himself. He tried again, and made a few noises, but nothing resembling speech. He went very pink, and then paused again, looking away.

"I – I –"

Benny watched, perplexed, as Ethan stuttered.

"It's OK, you don't have to –"

Ethan suddenly turned to face him, a new, determined, expression on his face. "Yes."

Benny raised an eyebrow. "Care to tell me?"

With a jerky movement, Ethan put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. After a moment of indecision, he thrust it at Benny, and then bent his head.

Benny unfolded it. He read the three words. He raised his eyebrows, and then looked across at Ethan. Well, maybe that was a resolution he _could_ keep. Tentatively, he smiled, and leaned over so that his lips were close to his friend's ear, who was still staring, frightened, at the floor.

"So do I," he whispered.

Ethan raised his head slowly, unbelieving, to come face to face with Benny. For a long moment, they looked into each other's eyes, separated only by the length of their noses.

Ethan opened his mouth to say something.

Benny softly closed it again with his own.

* * *

**Well, I think _that's_ been long enough coming... **

**This is the end of 'Ice Cool Whitechapel', and I hope that you liked it. Hopefully, if I can think of thirteen new plots, there will be a second series - so keep an eye out for it! (End shameless plug...)**

**Anyway, thank you all for reading it (and sticking with it for so long), special thanks to those who left reviews (there's still time to join that exclusive group, by the way...), and I'll see you around!**


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